I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7227 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modernize and improve 

the Internal Revenue Service, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 10, 2018 

Ms. JENKINS of Kansas (for herself and Mr. LEWIS of Georgia) introduced 

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

Means, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modernize 

and improve the Internal Revenue Service, and for other 

purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; ETC. 

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

5 ‘‘Taxpayer First Act of 2018’’. 

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


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

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

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

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; etc. 

TITLE I—PUTTING TAXPAYERS FIRST 

Subtitle A—Independent Appeals Process 

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

Appeals. 

Subtitle B—Improved Service 

Sec. 1101. Comprehensive customer service strategy. 

Sec. 1102. IRS Free File Program. 

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

with a submission of an offer-in-compromise. 

Subtitle C—Sensible Enforcement 

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

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

the Internal Revenue Service based on structuring transaction. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

returns and return information. 

Subtitle D—Organizational Modernization 

Sec. 1301. Office of the National Taxpayer Advocate. 

Sec. 1302. Modernization of Internal Revenue Service organizational structure. 

Subtitle E—Other Provisions 

Sec. 1401. Return preparation programs for applicable taxpayers. 

Sec. 1402. Provision of information regarding low-income taxpayer clinics. 

Sec. 1403. Notice from IRS regarding closure of taxpayer assistance centers. 

Sec. 1404. Rules for seizure and sale of perishable goods restricted to only perishable goods. 

Sec. 1405. Whistleblower reforms. 

Sec. 1406. Customer service information. 

Sec. 1407. Misdirected tax refund deposits. 

TITLE II—21ST CENTURY IRS 


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Subtitle A—Cybersecurity and Identity Protection 

Sec. 2001. Public-private partnership to address identity theft refund fraud. 

Sec. 2002. Recommendations of Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee regarding identity theft refund fraud. 

Sec. 2003. Information sharing and analysis center. 

Sec. 2004. Compliance by contractors with confidentiality safeguards. 

Sec. 2005. Report on electronic payments. 

Sec. 2006. Identity protection personal identification numbers. 

Sec. 2007. Single point of contact for tax-related identity theft victims. 

Sec. 2008. Notification of suspected identity theft. 

Sec. 2009. Guidelines for stolen identity refund fraud cases. 

Sec. 2010. Increased penalty for improper disclosure or use of information by 

preparers of returns. 

Subtitle B—Development of Information Technology 

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

Sec. 2102. Development of online accounts and portals. 

Sec. 2103. Internet platform for Form 1099 filings. 

Sec. 2104. Streamlined critical pay authority for information technology positions. 

Subtitle C—Modernization of Consent-Based Income Verification System 

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

verification. 

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

Subtitle D—Expanded Use of Electronic Systems 

Sec. 2301. Electronic filing of returns. 

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

authorizations to, and other authorizations of, practitioners. 

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

Sec. 2304. Requirement that electronically prepared paper returns include scannable code. 

Sec. 2305. Authentication of users of electronic services accounts. 

Subtitle E—Other Provisions 

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

reports. 

Sec. 2402. Comprehensive training strategy. 

TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Subtitle A—Reform of Laws Governing Internal Revenue Service Employees 

Sec. 3001. Electronic record retention. 

Sec. 3002. Prohibition on rehiring any employee of the Internal Revenue Service who was involuntarily separated from service for misconduct. 

Sec. 3003. Notification of unauthorized inspection or disclosure of returns and 

return information. 

Subtitle B—Provisions Relating to Exempt Organizations 


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Sec. 3101. Mandatory e-filing by exempt organizations. 

Sec. 3102. Notice required before revocation of tax exempt status for failure to 

file return. 

Subtitle C—Tax Court 

Sec. 3301. Disqualification of judge or magistrate judge of the Tax Court. 

Sec. 3302. Opinions and judgments. 

Sec. 3303. Title of special trial judge changed to magistrate judge of the Tax 

Court. 

Sec. 3304. Repeal of deadwood related to Board of Tax Appeals. 

1 TITLE I—PUTTING TAXPAYERS 

2 FIRST 

3 Subtitle A—Independent Appeals 

4 Process 

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

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

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

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

11 the Internal Revenue Service an office to be known 

12 as the ‘Internal Revenue Service Independent Office 

13 of Appeals’. 

14 ‘‘(2) CHIEF OF APPEALS.— 

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

16 Service Independent Office of Appeals shall be 

17 under the supervision and direction of an offi18 cial to be known as the ‘Chief of Appeals’. The 

19 Chief of Appeals shall report directly to the 

20 Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service 


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1 and shall be entitled to compensation at the 

2 same rate as the highest rate of basic pay es3 tablished for the Senior Executive Service under 

4 section 5382 of title 5, United States Code. 

5 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENT.—The Chief of Ap6 peals shall be appointed by the Commissioner of 

7 the Internal Revenue Service without regard to 

8 the provisions of title 5, United States Code, re9 lating to appointments in the competitive serv10 ice or the Senior Executive Service. 

11 ‘‘(C) QUALIFICATIONS.—An individual ap12 pointed under subparagraph (B) shall have ex13 perience and expertise in— 

14 ‘‘(i) administration of, and compliance 

15 with, Federal tax laws, 

16 ‘‘(ii) a broad range of compliance 

17 cases, and 

18 ‘‘(iii) management of large service or19 ganizations. 

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

21 shall be the function of the Internal Revenue Service 

22 Independent Office of Appeals to resolve Federal tax 

23 controversies without litigation on a basis which— 

24 ‘‘(A) is fair and impartial to both the Gov25 ernment and the taxpayer, 


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1 ‘‘(B) promotes a consistent application and 

2 interpretation of, and voluntary compliance 

3 with, the Federal tax laws, and 

4 ‘‘(C) enhances public confidence in the in5 tegrity and efficiency of the Internal Revenue 

6 Service. 

7 ‘‘(4) RIGHT OF APPEAL.—The resolution proc8 ess described in paragraph (3) shall be generally 

9 available to all taxpayers. 

10 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION ON DESIGNATION OF CASES

11 AS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR REFERRAL TO INDEPENDENT

12 OFFICE OF APPEALS.— 

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

14 is in receipt of a notice of deficiency authorized 

15 under section 6212 requests referral to the In16 ternal Revenue Service Independent Office of 

17 Appeals and such request is denied, the Com18 missioner of the Internal Revenue Service shall 

19 provide such taxpayer a written notice which— 

20 ‘‘(i) provides a detailed description of 

21 the facts involved, the basis for the deci22 sion to deny the request, and a detailed ex23 planation of how the basis of such decision 

24 applies to such facts, and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) describes the procedures pre2 scribed under subparagraph (C) for pro3 testing the decision to deny the request. 

4 ‘‘(B) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Com5 missioner of the Internal Revenue Service shall 

6 submit a written report to Congress on an an7 nual basis which includes the number of re8 quests described in subparagraph (A) which 

9 were denied and the reasons (described by cat10 egory) that such requests were denied. 

11 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURES FOR PROTESTING DE12 NIAL OF REQUEST.—The Commissioner of the 

13 Internal Revenue Service shall prescribe proce14 dures for protesting to the Commissioner of the 

15 Internal Revenue Service a denial of a request 

16 described in subparagraph (A). 

17 ‘‘(D) NOT APPLICABLE TO FRIVOLOUS PO18 SITIONS.—This paragraph shall not apply to a 

19 request for referral to the Internal Revenue 

20 Service Independent Office of Appeals which is 

21 denied on the basis that the issue involved is a 

22 frivolous position (within the meaning of section 

23 6702(c)). 

24 ‘‘(6) STAFF.— 


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

2 Internal Revenue Service Independent Office of 

3 Appeals shall report to the Chief of Appeals. 

4 ‘‘(B) ACCESS TO STAFF OF OFFICE OF

5 THE CHIEF COUNSEL.—The Chief of Appeals 

6 shall have authority to obtain legal assistance 

7 and advice from the staff of the Office of the 

8 Chief Counsel. The Chief Counsel shall ensure 

9 that such assistance and advice is provided by 

10 staff of the Office of the Chief Counsel who 

11 were not involved in the case with respect to 

12 which such assistance and advice is sought and 

13 who are not involved in preparing such case for 

14 litigation. 

15 ‘‘(7) ACCESS TO CASE FILES.— 

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

17 a conference with the Internal Revenue Service 

18 Independent Office of Appeals has been sched19 uled upon request of a specified taxpayer, the 

20 Chief of Appeals shall ensure that such tax21 payer is provided access to the nonprivileged 

22 portions of the case file on record regarding the 

23 disputed issues (other than documents provided 

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1 ice) not later than 10 days before the date of 

2 such conference. 

3 ‘‘(B) TAXPAYER ELECTION TO EXPEDITE

4 CONFERENCE.—If the taxpayer so elects, sub5 paragraph (A) shall be applied by substituting 

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

7 the date of such conference’. 

8 ‘‘(C) SPECIFIED TAXPAYER.—For pur9 poses of this paragraph— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘speci11 fied taxpayer’ means— 

12 ‘‘(I) in the case of any taxpayer 

13 who is a natural person, a taxpayer 

14 whose adjusted gross income does not 

15 exceed $400,000 for the taxable year 

16 to which the dispute relates, and 

17 ‘‘(II) in the case of any other 

18 taxpayer, a taxpayer whose gross re19 ceipts do not exceed $5,000,000 for 

20 the taxable year to which the dispute 

21 relates. 

22 ‘‘(ii) AGGREGATION RULE.—Rules 

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

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

25 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) The following provisions are each amended 

2 by striking ‘‘Internal Revenue Service Office of Ap3 peals’’ and inserting ‘‘Internal Revenue Service 

4 Independent Office of Appeals’’: 

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

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

7 (C) Subsections (b)(1) and (d)(3) of sec8 tion 6330. 

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

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

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

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

13 (c)(1) of section 7123. 

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

15 of section 7430. 

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

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

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

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

20 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Internal Revenue 

21 Service Independent Office of Appeals’’. 

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

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

24 (c) OTHER REFERENCES.—Any reference in any pro25 vision of law, or regulation or other guidance, to the InterVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:51 Dec 11, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7227.IH H7227

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1 nal Revenue Service Office of Appeals shall be treated as 

2 a reference to the Internal Revenue Service Independent 

3 Office of Appeals. 

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

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

6 Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act 

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

8 amendments made by this section). 

9 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro11 vided in this subsection, the amendments made by 

12 this section shall take effect on the date of the en13 actment of this Act. 

14 (2) ACCESS TO CASE FILES.—Section 

15 7803(e)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as 

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

17 occurring after the date which is 1 year after the 

18 date of the enactment of this Act. 

19 Subtitle B—Improved Service 

20 SEC. 1101. COMPREHENSIVE CUSTOMER SERVICE STRAT21 EGY. 

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

23 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

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1 ten comprehensive customer service strategy for the Inter2 nal Revenue Service. Such strategy shall include— 

3 (1) a plan to provide assistance to taxpayers 

4 that is secure, designed to meet reasonable taxpayer 

5 expectations, and adopts appropriate best practices 

6 of customer service provided in the private sector, 

7 including online services, telephone call back serv8 ices, and training of employees providing customer 

9 services; 

10 (2) a thorough assessment of the services that 

11 the Internal Revenue Service can co-locate with 

12 other Federal services or offer as self-service op13 tions; 

14 (3) proposals to improve Internal Revenue Serv15 ice customer service in the short term (the current 

16 and following fiscal year), medium term (approxi17 mately 3 to 5 fiscal years), and long term (approxi18 mately 10 fiscal years); 

19 (4) a plan to update guidance and training ma20 terials for customer service employees of the Internal 

21 Revenue Service, including the Internal Revenue 

22 Manual, to reflect such strategy; and 

23 (5) identified metrics and benchmarks for quan24 titatively measuring the progress of the Internal 

25 Revenue Service in implementing such strategy. 


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1 (b) UPDATED GUIDANCE AND TRAINING MATE2 RIALS.—Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury (or the 

4 Secretary’s delegate) shall make available the updated 

5 guidance and training materials described in subsection 

6 (a)(4) (including the Internal Revenue Manual). Such up7 dated guidance and training materials (including the In8 ternal Revenue Manual) shall be written in a manner so 

9 as to be easily understood by customer service employees 

10 of the Internal Revenue Service and shall provide clear 

11 instructions. 

12 SEC. 1102. IRS FREE FILE PROGRAM. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

14 (1) The Secretary of the Treasury, or the Sec15 retary’s delegate, shall continue to operate the IRS 

16 Free File Program as established by the Internal 

17 Revenue Service and published in the Federal Reg18 ister on November 4, 2002 (67 Fed. Reg. 67247), 

19 including any subsequent agreements and governing 

20 rules established pursuant thereto. 

21 (2) The IRS Free File Program shall continue 

22 to provide free commercial-type online individual in23 come tax preparation and electronic filing services to 

24 the lowest 70 percent of taxpayers by adjusted gross 

25 income. The number of taxpayers eligible to receive 


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1 such services each year shall be calculated by the In2 ternal Revenue Service annually based on prior year 

3 aggregate taxpayer adjusted gross income data. 

4 (3) In addition to the services described in 

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

6 Free File Program shall continue to make available 

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

8 online electronic fillable forms utility. 

9 (4) The IRS Free File Program shall continue 

10 to work cooperatively with the private sector to pro11 vide the free individual income tax preparation and 

12 the electronic filing services described in paragraphs 

13 (2) and (3). 

14 (5) The IRS Free File Program shall work co15 operatively with State government agencies to en16 hance and expand the use of the program to provide 

17 needed benefits to the taxpayer while reducing the 

18 cost of processing returns. 

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

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

21 sector through the IRS Free File Program to identify and 

22 implement, consistent with applicable law, innovative new 

23 program features to improve and simplify the taxpayer’s 

24 experience with completing and filing individual income 

25 tax returns through voluntary compliance. 


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1 SEC. 1103. LOW-INCOME EXCEPTION FOR PAYMENTS OTH2 ERWISE REQUIRED IN CONNECTION WITH A 

3 SUBMISSION OF AN OFFER-IN-COMPROMISE. 

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

5 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION FOR LOW-INCOME TAX7 PAYERS.—Paragraph (1), and any user fee otherwise 

8 required in connection with the submission of an 

9 offer-in-compromise, shall not apply to any offer-in10 compromise with respect to a taxpayer who is an in11 dividual with adjusted gross income, as determined 

12 for the most recent taxable year for which such in13 formation is available, which does not exceed 250 

14 percent of the applicable poverty level (as deter15 mined by the Secretary).’’. 

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

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

18 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

19 Subtitle C—Sensible Enforcement 

20 SEC. 1201. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE SEIZURE RE21 QUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO STRUC22 TURING TRANSACTIONS. 

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

24 is amended— 

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

26 the following: 


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

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

3 ‘‘(B) INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE SEI4 ZURE REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO

5 STRUCTURING TRANSACTIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(i) PROPERTY DERIVED FROM AN IL7 LEGAL SOURCE.—Property may only be 

8 seized by the Internal Revenue Service 

9 pursuant to subparagraph (A) by reason of 

10 a claimed violation of section 5324 if the 

11 property to be seized was derived from an 

12 illegal source or the funds were structured 

13 for the purpose of concealing the violation 

14 of a criminal law or regulation other than 

15 section 5324. 

16 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE.—Not later than 30 

17 days after property is seized by the Inter18 nal Revenue Service pursuant to subpara19 graph (A), the Internal Revenue Service 

20 shall— 

21 ‘‘(I) make a good faith effort to 

22 find all persons with an ownership in23 terest in such property; and 

24 ‘‘(II) provide each such person so 

25 found with a notice of the seizure and 


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1 of the person’s rights under clause 

2 (iv). 

3 ‘‘(iii) EXTENSION OF NOTICE UNDER

4 CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.—The Internal 

5 Revenue Service may apply to a court of 

6 competent jurisdiction for one 30-day ex7 tension of the notice requirement under 

8 clause (ii) if the Internal Revenue Service 

9 can establish probable cause of an immi10 nent threat to national security or personal 

11 safety necessitating such extension. 

12 ‘‘(iv) POST-SEIZURE HEARING.—If a 

13 person with an ownership interest in prop14 erty seized pursuant to subparagraph (A) 

15 by the Internal Revenue Service requests a 

16 hearing by a court of competent jurisdic17 tion within 30 days after the date on which 

18 notice is provided under subclause (ii), 

19 such property shall be returned unless the 

20 court holds an adversarial hearing and 

21 finds within 30 days of such request (or 

22 such longer period as the court may pro23 vide, but only on request of an interested 

24 party) that there is probable cause to be25 lieve that there is a violation of section 


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1 5324 involving such property and probable 

2 cause to believe that the property to be 

3 seized was derived from an illegal source or 

4 the funds were structured for the purpose 

5 of concealing the violation of a criminal 

6 law or regulation other than section 

7 5324.’’. 

8 SEC. 1202. EXCLUSION OF INTEREST RECEIVED IN ACTION 

9 TO RECOVER PROPERTY SEIZED BY THE IN10 TERNAL REVENUE SERVICE BASED ON 

11 STRUCTURING TRANSACTION. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part III of subchapter B of chap13 ter 1 is amended by inserting before section 140 the fol14 lowing new section: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 139H. INTEREST RECEIVED IN ACTION TO RECOVER 

16 PROPERTY SEIZED BY THE INTERNAL REV17 ENUE SERVICE BASED ON STRUCTURING 

18 TRANSACTION. 

19 ‘‘Gross income shall not include any interest received 

20 from the Federal Government in connection with an action 

21 to recover property seized by the Internal Revenue Service 

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

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

24 such title.’’. 


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

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

3 inserting before the item relating to section 140 the fol4 lowing new item: 

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

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

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

7 date of the enactment of this Act. 

8 SEC. 1203. CLARIFICATION OF EQUITABLE RELIEF FROM 

9 JOINT LIABILITY. 

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

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

12 following new paragraph: 

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

14 review of a determination made under this section 

15 shall be reviewed de novo by the Tax Court and shall 

16 be based upon— 

17 ‘‘(A) the administrative record established 

18 at the time of the determination, and 

19 ‘‘(B) any additional newly discovered or 

20 previously unavailable evidence.’’; and 

21 (2) by amending subsection (f) to read as fol22 lows: 

23 ‘‘(f) EQUITABLE RELIEF.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Under procedures pre2 scribed by the Secretary, if— 

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

4 circumstances, it is inequitable to hold the indi5 vidual liable for any unpaid tax or any defi6 ciency (or any portion of either), and 

7 ‘‘(B) relief is not available to such indi8 vidual under subsection (b) or (c), 

9 the Secretary may relieve such individual of such li10 ability. 

11 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—A request for equitable re12 lief under this subsection may be made with respect 

13 to any portion of any liability that— 

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

15 request is made before the expiration of the ap16 plicable period of limitation under section 6502, 

17 or 

18 ‘‘(B) has been paid, provided that such re19 quest is made during the period in which the 

20 individual could submit a timely claim for re21 fund or credit of such payment.’’. 

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

23 this section shall apply to petitions or requests filed or 

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


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1 SEC. 1204. MODIFICATION OF PROCEDURES FOR ISSUANCE 

2 OF THIRD-PARTY SUMMONS. 

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

4 adding at the end the following flush sentence: 

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

6 the preceding sentence unless the information sought to 

7 be obtained is narrowly tailored to information that per8 tains to the failure (or potential failure) of the person or 

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

10 comply with one or more provisions of the internal revenue 

11 law which have been identified for purposes of such para12 graph.’’. 

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

14 this section shall apply to summonses served after the date 

15 of the enactment of this Act. 

16 SEC. 1205. PRIVATE DEBT COLLECTION AND SPECIAL COM17 PLIANCE PERSONNEL PROGRAM. 

18 (a) CERTAIN TAX RECEIVABLES NOT ELIGIBLE FOR

19 COLLECTION UNDER TAX COLLECTION CONTRACTS.— 

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

21 of subparagraph (C) and by inserting after subparagraph 

22 (D) the following new subparagraphs: 

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

24 income consists of disability insurance benefits 

25 under section 223 of the Social Security Act or 

26 supplemental security income benefits under 


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1 title XVI of the Social Security Act (including 

2 supplemental security income benefits of the 

3 type described in section 1616 of such Act or 

4 section 212 of Public Law 93–66), or 

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

6 adjusted gross income, as determined for the 

7 most recent taxable year for which such infor8 mation is available, which does not exceed 200 

9 percent of the applicable poverty level (as deter10 mined by the Secretary).’’. 

11 (b) DETERMINATION OF INACTIVE TAX RECEIV12 ABLES ELIGIBLE FOR COLLECTION UNDER TAX COLLEC13 TION CONTRACTS.—Section 6306(c)(2)(A)(ii) is amended 

by striking ‘‘more than 1 14 ⁄3 of the period of the applicable 

15 statute of limitation has lapsed’’ and inserting ‘‘more than 

16 2 years has passed since assessment’’. 

17 (c) MAXIMUM LENGTH OF INSTALLMENT AGREE18 MENTS OFFERED UNDER TAX COLLECTION CON19 TRACTS.—Section 6306(b)(1)(B) is amended by striking 

20 ‘‘5 years’’ and inserting ‘‘7 years’’. 

21 (d) CLARIFICATION THAT SPECIAL COMPLIANCE

22 PERSONNEL PROGRAM ACCOUNT MAY BE USED FOR

23 PROGRAM COSTS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6307(b) is amend25 ed— 


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

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

3 period; and 

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

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

6 ‘‘for other than program costs’’. 

7 (2) COMMUNICATIONS, SOFTWARE, AND TECH8 NOLOGY COSTS TREATED AS PROGRAM COSTS.—Sec9 tion 6307(d)(2)(B) is amended by striking ‘‘tele10 communications’’ and inserting ‘‘communications, 

11 software, technology’’. 

12 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

13 6307(d)(2) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end 

14 of subparagraph (A), by striking the period at the 

15 end of subparagraph (B) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and 

16 by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following 

17 new subparagraph: 

18 ‘‘(C) reimbursement of the Internal Rev19 enue Service or other government agencies for 

20 the cost of administering the qualified tax col21 lection program under section 6306.’’. 

22 (e) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro24 vided in this subsection, the amendments made by 

25 this section shall apply to tax receivables identified 


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

2 December 31, 2019. 

3 (2) MAXIMUM LENGTH OF INSTALLMENT

4 AGREEMENTS.—The amendment made by subsection 

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

6 date of the enactment of this Act. 

7 (3) USE OF SPECIAL COMPLIANCE PERSONNEL

8 PROGRAM ACCOUNT.—The amendment made by sub9 section (d) shall apply to amounts expended from 

10 the special compliance personnel program account 

11 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

12 SEC. 1206. REFORM OF NOTICE OF CONTACT OF THIRD 

13 PARTIES. 

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

15 read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(1) GENERAL NOTICE.—An officer or em17 ployee of the Internal Revenue Service may not con18 tact any person other than the taxpayer with respect 

19 to the determination or collection of the tax liability 

20 of such taxpayer unless such contact occurs during 

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

22 in a notice which— 

23 ‘‘(A) informs the taxpayer that contacts 

24 with persons other than the taxpayer are in25 tended to be made during such period, and 


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

2 Secretary, is provided to the taxpayer not later 

3 than 45 days before the beginning of such pe4 riod. 

5 Nothing in the preceding sentence shall prevent the 

6 issuance of notices to the same taxpayer with respect 

7 to the same tax liability with periods specified there8 in that, in the aggregate, exceed 1 year. A notice 

9 shall not be issued under this paragraph unless 

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

11 to contact persons other than the taxpayer during 

12 the period specified in such notice. The preceding 

13 sentence shall not prevent the issuance of a notice 

14 if the requirement of such sentence is met on the 

15 basis of the assumption that the information sought 

16 to be obtained by such contact will not be obtained 

17 by other means before such contact.’’. 

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

19 this section shall apply to notices provided, and contacts 

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

21 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

22 SEC. 1207. MODIFICATION OF AUTHORITY TO ISSUE DES23 IGNATED SUMMONS. 

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

25 is amended by striking ‘‘coordinated examination proVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:51 Dec 11, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7227.IH H7227

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1 gram’’ and inserting ‘‘coordinated industry case pro2 gram’’. 

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

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

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

6 preceded by a review and written approval 

7 of such issuance by the Commissioner of 

8 the relevant operating division of the Inter9 nal Revenue Service and the Chief Counsel 

10 which— 

11 ‘‘(I) states facts clearly estab12 lishing that the Secretary has made 

13 reasonable requests for the informa14 tion that is the subject of the sum15 mons, and 

16 ‘‘(II) is attached to such sum17 mons,’’. 

18 (c) ESTABLISHMENT THAT REASONABLE REQUESTS

19 FOR INFORMATION WERE MADE.—Subsection (j) of sec20 tion 6503 is amended by adding at the end the following 

21 new paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(4) ESTABLISHMENT THAT REASONABLE RE23 QUESTS FOR INFORMATION WERE MADE.—In any 

24 court proceeding described in paragraph (3), the 

25 Secretary shall establish that reasonable requests 


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1 were made for the information that is the subject of 

2 the summons.’’. 

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

4 this section shall apply to summonses issued after the date 

5 of the enactment of this Act. 

6 SEC. 1208. LIMITATION ON ACCESS OF NON-INTERNAL REV7 ENUE SERVICE EMPLOYEES TO RETURNS 

8 AND RETURN INFORMATION. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7602 is amended by add10 ing at the end the following new subsection: 

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

12 THAN INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE OFFICERS AND EM13 PLOYEES.—The Secretary shall not, under the authority 

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

15 other data obtained pursuant to this section to any person 

16 authorized under section 6103(n), except when such per17 son requires such information for the sole purpose of pro18 viding expert evaluation and assistance to the Internal 

19 Revenue Service. No person other than an officer or em20 ployee of the Internal Revenue Service or the Office of 

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

22 a witness under oath whose testimony was obtained pursu23 ant to this section.’’. 

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

25 this section— 


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1 (1) shall take effect on the date of the enact2 ment of this Act; and 

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

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

5 of 1986 merely because such contract was in effect 

6 before the date of the enactment of this Act. 

7 Subtitle D—Organizational 

8 Modernization 

9 SEC. 1301. OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL TAXPAYER ADVO10 CATE. 

11 (a) TAXPAYER ADVOCATE DIRECTIVES.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 7803(c) is amended 

13 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

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

15 the case of any Taxpayer Advocate Directive issued 

16 by the National Taxpayer Advocate pursuant to a 

17 delegation of authority from the Commissioner of 

18 the Internal Revenue Service— 

19 ‘‘(A) the Commissioner or a Deputy Com20 missioner shall modify, rescind, or ensure com21 pliance with such directive not later than 90 

22 days after the issuance of such directive, and 

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

24 modified or rescinded by a Deputy Commis25 sioner, the National Taxpayer Advocate may 


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1 (not later than 90 days after such modification 

2 or rescission) appeal to the Commissioner and 

3 the Commissioner shall (not later than 90 days 

4 after such appeal is made) ensure compliance 

5 with such directive as issued by the National 

6 Taxpayer Advocate or provide the National 

7 Taxpayer Advocate with a detailed description 

8 of the reasons for any modification or rescission 

9 made or upheld by the Commissioner pursuant 

10 to such appeal.’’. 

11 (2) REPORT TO CERTAIN COMMITTEES OF CON12 GRESS REGARDING DIRECTIVES.—Section 

13 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii) is amended by redesignating sub14 clauses (VIII) through (XI) as subclauses (IX) 

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

16 subclause (VII) the following new subclause: 

17 ‘‘(VIII) identify any Taxpayer 

18 Advocate Directive which was not 

19 honored by the Internal Revenue 

20 Service in a timely manner, as speci21 fied under paragraph (5),’’. 

22 (b) NATIONAL TAXPAYER ADVOCATE ANNUAL RE23 PORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

24 (1) INCLUSION OF MOST SERIOUS TAXPAYER

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


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1 amended by striking ‘‘at least 20 of the’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘the 10’’. 

3 (2) COORDINATION WITH TREASURY INSPECTOR

4 GENERAL FOR TAX ADMINISTRATION.—Section 

5 7803(c)(2) is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing new subparagraph: 

7 ‘‘(E) COORDINATION WITH TREASURY IN8 SPECTOR GENERAL FOR TAX ADMINISTRA9 TION.—Before beginning any research or study, 

10 the National Taxpayer Advocate shall coordi11 nate with the Treasury Inspector General for 

12 Tax Administration to ensure that the National 

13 Taxpayer Advocate does not duplicate any ac14 tion that the Treasury Inspector General for 

15 Tax Administration has already undertaken or 

16 has a plan to undertake.’’. 

17 (3) STATISTICAL SUPPORT.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 6108 is amend19 ed by adding at the end the following new sub20 section: 

21 ‘‘(d) STATISTICAL SUPPORT FOR NATIONAL TAX22 PAYER ADVOCATE.—The Secretary shall, upon request of 

23 the National Taxpayer Advocate, provide the National 

24 Taxpayer Advocate with statistical support in connection 

25 with the preparation by the National Taxpayer Advocate 


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1 of the annual report described in section 

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

3 statistical studies, compilations, and the review of infor4 mation provided by the National Taxpayer Advocate for 

5 statistical validity and sound statistical methodology.’’. 

6 (B) DISCLOSURE OF REVIEW.—Section 

7 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii), as amended by subsection 

8 (a), is amended by redesignating subclause 

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

10 subclause (XI) the following new subclause: 

11 ‘‘(XII) with respect to any statis12 tical information included in such re13 port, include a statement of whether 

14 such statistical information was re15 viewed or provided by the Secretary 

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

17 whether the Secretary determined 

18 such information to be statistically 

19 valid and based on sound statistical 

20 methodology.’’. 

21 (C) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

22 7803(c)(2)(B)(iii) is amended by adding at the 

23 end the following: ‘‘The preceding sentence 

24 shall not apply with respect to statistical infor25 mation provided to the Secretary for review, or 


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1 received from the Secretary, under section 

2 6108(d).’’. 

3 (c) SALARY OF NATIONAL TAXPAYER ADVOCATE.— 

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

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

6 fixed under section 9503 of such title’’. 

7 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro9 vided in this subsection, the amendments made by 

10 this section shall take effect on the date of the en11 actment of this Act. 

12 (2) SALARY OF NATIONAL TAXPAYER ADVO13 CATE.—The amendment made by subsection (c) 

14 shall apply to compensation paid to individuals ap15 pointed as the National Taxpayer Advocate after the 

16 date of the enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 1302. MODERNIZATION OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERV18 ICE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE. 

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

20 2020, the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service 

21 shall submit to Congress a comprehensive written plan to 

22 redesign the organization of the Internal Revenue Service. 

23 Such plan shall— 

24 (1) ensure the successful implementation of the 

25 priorities specified by Congress in this Act; 


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1 (2) prioritize taxpayer services to ensure that 

2 all taxpayers easily and readily receive the assistance 

3 that they need; 

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

6 responsibilities within the agency; 

7 (4) best position the Internal Revenue Service 

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

10 (5) address whether the Criminal Investigation 

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

13 (b) REPEAL OF RESTRICTION ON ORGANIZATIONAL

14 STRUCTURE OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE.—Para15 graph (3) of section 1001(a) of the Internal Revenue Serv16 ice Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 shall cease to 

17 apply beginning 1 year after the date on which the Com18 missioner of the Internal Revenue Service submits to Con19 gress the plan described in subsection (a). 

20 Subtitle E—Other Provisions 

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

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


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

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX

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

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

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

10 preparation programs assisting applicable taxpayers and 

11 members of underserved populations. 

12 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.— 

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

15 section for— 

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

18 cost principles under the applicable Office of 

19 Management and Budget circular, including— 

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

22 ‘‘(ii) developing training materials, 

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

25 the program, 

26 ‘‘(iii) equipment purchases, and 


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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 applicable taxpayers, 

10 with emphasis on outreach to, and services for, 

11 such taxpayers, 

12 ‘‘(B) taxpayer outreach and educational 

13 activities relating to eligibility and availability 

14 of income supports available through this title, 

15 including the earned income tax credit, and 

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

17 more underserved populations. 

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

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

22 for expenses described in subsection (b). 

23 ‘‘(d) PROGRAM ADHERENCE.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab25 lish procedures for, and shall conduct not less freVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:51 Dec 11, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7227.IH H7227

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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 measVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:51 Dec 11, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7227.IH H7227

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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 ap9 plicable taxpayers, in preparing and filing Fed10 eral income tax returns, 

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

12 entity, 

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

14 the preparation of Federal income tax returns 

15 meet the training requirements prescribed by 

16 the Secretary, and 

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

18 which reviews 100 percent of all returns. 

19 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED ENTITY.— 

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

21 entity’ means any entity which— 

22 ‘‘(i) is an eligible organization, 

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

24 filing and payment requirements, 


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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 applicable tax17 payers and members of underserved popu18 lations with respect to which no organiza19 tions described in the preceding clauses are 

20 available— 

21 ‘‘(I) a State government agency, 

22 or 

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


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1 universities under the Smith-Lever 

2 Act of May 8, 1914). 

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

5 for the taxable year does not exceed an amount 

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

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

10 guidance. 

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

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

14 proficiency, Native Americans, individuals living in 

15 rural areas, members of the Armed Forces and their 

16 spouses, and the elderly. 

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

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

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

21 to exceed 3 years. 

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


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1 fiscal year (exclusive of costs of administering the 

2 program) to grants under this section. 

3 ‘‘(g) PROMOTION OF PROGRAMS.— 

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

8 ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION REGARDING

9 QUALIFIED RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAMS.—The 

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

12 grants under this section. 

13 ‘‘(3) VITA GRANTEE REFERRAL.—Qualified re14 turn preparation programs receiving a grant under 

15 this section are encouraged, in appropriate cases, 

16 to— 

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

18 and eligibility requirements for receiving, advice 

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

21 7526, and 

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

24 clinics.’’. 


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

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

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

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

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

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

8 the following new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(6) PROVISION OF INFORMATION REGARDING

10 QUALIFIED LOW-INCOME TAXPAYER CLINICS.—Not11 withstanding any other provision of law, officers and 

12 employees of the Department of the Treasury may— 

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

14 and eligibility requirements for receiving, advice 

15 and assistance from one or more specific quali16 fied low-income taxpayer clinics receiving fund17 ing under this section, and 

18 ‘‘(B) provide information regarding the lo19 cation of, and contact information for, such 

20 clinics.’’. 

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

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

23 of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 1403. NOTICE FROM IRS REGARDING CLOSURE OF 

2 TAXPAYER ASSISTANCE CENTERS. 

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

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

6 delegate) shall— 

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

9 (A) identifies the Taxpayer Assistance 

10 Center proposed for closure and the date of 

11 such proposed closure; and 

12 (B) identifies the relevant alternative 

13 sources of taxpayer assistance which may be 

14 utilized by taxpayers affected by such proposed 

15 closure; and 

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

18 (A) the information included in the notice 

19 described in paragraph (1); 

20 (B) the reasons for such proposed closure; 

21 and 

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


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

2 GOODS RESTRICTED TO ONLY PERISHABLE 

3 GOODS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6336 of the Internal Rev5 enue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘or become 

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

7 property cannot be kept without great expense’’. 

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

9 this section shall apply to property seized after the date 

10 of the enactment of this Act. 

11 SEC. 1405. WHISTLEBLOWER REFORMS. 

12 (a) MODIFICATIONS TO DISCLOSURE RULES FOR

13 WHISTLEBLOWERS.— 

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

15 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(13) DISCLOSURE TO WHISTLEBLOWERS.— 

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

18 disclose, to any individual providing information 

19 relating to any purpose described in paragraph 

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

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

24 that such disclosure is necessary in obtaining 

25 information, which is not otherwise reasonably 

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

2 collected with respect to the enforcement of any 

3 other provision of this title. 

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

6 an individual providing information relating to 

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

8 of section 7623(a) the following: 

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

10 case for which the individual has provided 

11 information has been referred for an audit 

12 or examination, a notice with respect to 

13 such referral. 

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

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

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

20 ‘‘(iii) Subject to such requirements 

21 and conditions as are prescribed by the 

22 Secretary, upon a written request by such 

23 individual— 


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1 ‘‘(I) information on the status 

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

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

6 under section 7623(b), the reasons for 

7 such determination. 

8 Clause (iii) shall not apply to any information 

9 if the Secretary determines that disclosure of 

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

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

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

15 by the Secretary.’’. 

16 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

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

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

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

24 (13)’’. 


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1 (C) COORDINATION WITH AUTHORITY TO

2 DISCLOSE FOR INVESTIGATIVE PURPOSES.— 

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

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

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

8 section 7623(a) which is made under paragraph 

9 (13)(A).’’. 

10 (b) PROTECTION AGAINST RETALIATION.—Section 

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

12 subsection: 

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

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

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

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

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

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


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1 investigation regarding underpayment of tax or 

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

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

9 the Comptroller General of the United States, 

10 the Department of Justice, the United States 

11 Congress, a person with supervisory authority 

12 over the employee, or any other person working 

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

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

16 assist in any administrative or judicial action 

17 taken by the Internal Revenue Service relating 

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

21 ‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.— 

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

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

25 paragraph (3) by— 


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

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

4 issued a final decision within 180 days of 

5 the filing of the complaint and there is no 

6 showing that such delay is due to the bad 

7 faith of the claimant, bringing an action at 

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

10 States, which shall have jurisdiction over 

11 such an action without regard to the 

12 amount in controversy. 

13 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURE.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An action under 

15 subparagraph (A)(i) shall be governed 

16 under the rules and procedures set forth in 

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

18 Code. 

19 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—Notification made 

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

21 United States Code, shall be made to the 

22 person named in the complaint and to the 

23 employer. 

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


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1 shall be governed by the legal burdens of 

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

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

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

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

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

10 thereof, and 

11 ‘‘(II) ‘a violation of paragraph 

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

14 appears. 

15 ‘‘(iv) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—A 

16 complaint under subparagraph (A)(i) shall 

17 be filed not later than 180 days after the 

18 date on which the violation occurs. 

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

21 shall be entitled to trial by jury. 

22 ‘‘(3) REMEDIES.— 

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


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1 shall be entitled to all relief necessary to make 

2 the employee whole. 

3 ‘‘(B) COMPENSATORY DAMAGES.—Relief 

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

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

8 have had, but for the reprisal, 

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

10 amount of back pay and 100 percent of all 

11 lost benefits, with interest, and 

12 ‘‘(iii) compensation for any special 

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

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

18 rights, privileges, or remedies of any employee under 

19 any Federal or State law, or under any collective 

20 bargaining agreement. 

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

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


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1 in this subsection may not be waived by any 

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

4 agreement. 

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

7 shall be valid or enforceable, if the agreement 

8 requires arbitration of a dispute arising under 

9 this subsection.’’. 

10 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

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

12 subsection (a) shall apply to disclosures made after 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

14 (2) CIVIL PROTECTION.—The amendment made 

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

16 enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 1406. CUSTOMER SERVICE INFORMATION. 

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

19 delegate) shall provide helpful information to taxpayers 

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

22 (1) Information about common tax scams. 

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

24 scams. 


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

3 SEC. 1407. MISDIRECTED TAX REFUND DEPOSITS. 

4 Section 6402 is amended by adding at the end the 

5 following new subsection: 

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

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

8 the enactment of the Taxpayer First Act of 2018, the Sec9 retary shall prescribe regulations to establish procedures 

10 to allow for— 

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

12 refund made by the Secretary by electronic funds 

13 transfer was erroneously delivered to an account at 

14 a financial institution for which the taxpayer is not 

15 the owner; 

16 ‘‘(2) coordination with financial institutions for 

17 the purpose of— 

18 ‘‘(A) identifying erroneous payments de19 scribed in paragraph (1); and 

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

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

23 account of the taxpayer.’’. 


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1 TITLE II—21ST CENTURY IRS 

2 Subtitle A—Cybersecurity and 

3 Identity Protection 

4 SEC. 2001. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP TO ADDRESS 

5 IDENTITY THEFT REFUND FRAUD. 

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

7 delegate) shall work collaboratively with the public and 

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

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

13 The Secretary of the Treasury shall ensure that the 

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

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

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

21 SEC. 2003. INFORMATION SHARING AND ANALYSIS CENTER. 

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

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

25 and enhance data compilation and analysis to facilitate 


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1 sharing actionable data and information with respect to 

2 identity theft tax refund fraud. 

3 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF PERFORMANCE METRICS.— 

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

6 such center in detecting and preventing identity theft tax 

7 refund fraud. 

8 (c) DISCLOSURE.— 

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

11 following new paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(14) DISCLOSURE OF RETURN INFORMATION

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

15 FRAUD.— 

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

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

24 theft tax refund fraud, validation of taxpayer 


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1 identity, authentication of taxpayer returns, or 

2 detection or prevention of cybersecurity threats. 

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

4 purposes of this paragraph— 

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

7 ‘‘(I) any person designated by 

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

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

12 section 2003(a) of the Taxpayer First 

13 Act of 2018, and 

14 ‘‘(II) any person subject to the 

15 requirements of section 7216 and 

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

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

20 person unless such person has entered into 

21 a written agreement with the Secretary 

22 setting forth the terms and conditions for 

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


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1 safeguarding of such information by such 

2 person. 

3 ‘‘(C) SPECIFIED RETURN INFORMATION.— 

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

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

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

9 ‘‘(I) in the case of such return 

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

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

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

16 characteristics of such return as the 

17 Secretary may identify for purposes of 

18 this subclause, and 

19 ‘‘(II) in the case of such return 

20 prepared by a tax return preparer, 

21 identifying information with respect to 

22 such tax return preparer, including 

23 the preparer taxpayer identification 

24 number and electronic filer identifica25 tion number of such preparer, 


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

2 in connection with a case of a identity 

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

5 procedures as the Secretary may provide), 

6 the information referred to in subclauses 

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

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

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

12 with such return, and 

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

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

17 (i) with respect to such threat. 

18 ‘‘(D) RESTRICTION ON USE OF DISCLOSED

19 INFORMATION.— 

20 ‘‘(i) DESIGNATED THIRD PARTIES.— 

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

23 shall be used only for the purposes of and 

24 to the extent necessary in— 


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1 ‘‘(I) performing the function such 

2 person is designated to perform under 

3 such subparagraph, 

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

6 persons described in subparagraph 

7 (B)(i)(II), and 

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

11 and analysis center. 

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

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

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

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

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

24 written agreement referred to in subparagraph 

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


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1 requirement that any unauthorized access to in2 formation disclosed under this paragraph, and 

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

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

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

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

10 inserting ‘‘(13), or (14)’’. 

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

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

13 inserting ‘‘(13), or (14)’’. 

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

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

17 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(9) DISCLOSURE TO CONTRACTORS AND

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

21 shall be disclosed to any contractor or other agent 

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

23 agency, to the satisfaction of the Secretary— 

24 ‘‘(A) has requirements in effect which re25 quire each such contractor or other agent which 


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1 would have access to returns or return informa2 tion to provide safeguards (within the meaning 

3 of paragraph (4)) to protect the confidentiality 

4 of such returns or return information, 

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

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

7 of contracts or agreements of less than 3 years 

8 in duration) of each contractor or other agent 

9 to determine compliance with such require10 ments, 

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

13 to the Secretary as part of the report required 

14 by paragraph (4)(E), and 

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

16 recent annual period that such contractor or 

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

19 The certification required by subparagraph (D) shall 

20 include the name and address of each contractor or 

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

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1 sures pursuant to subsection (n) for purposes of 

2 Federal tax administration.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

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

5 (9)’’ after ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’. 

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

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

9 SEC. 2005. REPORT ON ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS. 

10 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact11 ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury (or the 

12 Secretary’s delegate), in coordination with the Bureau of 

13 Fiscal Service and the Internal Revenue Service, and in 

14 consultation with private sector financial institutions, shall 

15 submit a written report to Congress describing how the 

16 government can utilize new payment platforms to increase 

17 the number of tax refunds paid by electronic funds trans18 fer. Such report shall weigh the interests of reducing iden19 tity theft tax refund fraud, reducing the Federal Govern20 ment’s costs in delivering tax refunds, the costs and any 

21 associated fees charged to taxpayers (including monthly 

22 and point-of-service fees) to access their tax refunds, the 

23 impact on individuals who do not have access to financial 

24 accounts or institutions, and ensuring payments are made 

25 to accounts at a financial institution that complies with 


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1 section 21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, chapter 

2 2 of title I of Public Law 91–508, and subchapter II of 

3 chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code (commonly re4 ferred to collectively as the ‘‘Bank Secrecy Act’’) and the 

5 USA PATRIOT Act. Such report shall include any legisla6 tive recommendations necessary to accomplish these goals. 

7 SEC. 2006. IDENTITY PROTECTION PERSONAL IDENTIFICA8 TION NUMBERS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the Sec10 retary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s delegate (here11 after referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 

12 establish a program to issue, upon the request of any indi13 vidual, a number which may be used in connection with 

14 such individual’s social security number (or other identi15 fying information with respect to such individual as deter16 mined by the Secretary) to assist the Secretary in 

17 verifying such individual’s identity. 

18 (b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

19 (1) ANNUAL EXPANSION.—For each calendar 

20 year beginning after the date of the enactment of 

21 this Act, the Secretary shall provide numbers 

22 through the program described in subsection (a) to 

23 individuals residing in such States as the Secretary 

24 deems appropriate, provided that the total number 

25 of States served by such program during such year 


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1 is greater than the total number of States served by 

2 such program during the preceding year. 

3 (2) NATIONWIDE AVAILABILITY.—Not later 

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

5 Act, the Secretary shall ensure that the program de6 scribed in subsection (a) is made available to any in7 dividual residing in the United States. 

8 SEC. 2007. SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT FOR TAX-RELATED 

9 IDENTITY THEFT VICTIMS. 

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

11 the Secretary’s delegate) shall establish and implement 

12 procedures to ensure that any taxpayer whose return has 

13 been delayed or otherwise adversely affected due to tax14 related identity theft has a single point of contact at the 

15 Internal Revenue Service throughout the processing of the 

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

17 taxpayer’s case to completion and coordinate with other 

18 Internal Revenue Service employees to resolve case issues 

19 as quickly as possible. 

20 (b) SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT.— 

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

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

23 team or subset of specially trained employees who— 


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1 (A) have the ability to work across func2 tions to resolve the issues involved in the tax3 payer’s case; and 

4 (B) shall be accountable for handling the 

5 case until its resolution. 

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

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

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

10 have been established to— 

11 (A) ensure continuity of records and case 

12 history; and 

13 (B) notify the taxpayer when appropriate. 

14 SEC. 2008. NOTIFICATION OF SUSPECTED IDENTITY THEFT. 

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

16 at the end the following new section: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 7529. NOTIFICATION OF SUSPECTED IDENTITY 

18 THEFT. 

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

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

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

22 jeopardizing an investigation relating to tax administra23 tion— 

24 ‘‘(1) as soon as practicable, notify the indi25 vidual of such determination and provide— 


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1 ‘‘(A) instructions on how to file a report 

2 with law enforcement regarding the unauthor3 ized use of the identity of the individual, 

4 ‘‘(B) the identification of any forms nec5 essary for the individual to complete and submit 

6 to law enforcement to permit access to personal 

7 information of the individual during the inves8 tigation, 

9 ‘‘(C) information regarding actions the in10 dividual may take in order to protect the indi11 vidual from harm relating to such unauthorized 

12 use, and 

13 ‘‘(D) an offer of identity protection meas14 ures to be provided to the individual by the In15 ternal Revenue Service, such as the use of an 

16 identity protection personal identification num17 ber, and 

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

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

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

21 additional notifications to such individual (or such 

22 individual’s designee) regarding— 

23 ‘‘(A) whether an investigation has been ini24 tiated in regards to such unauthorized use, 


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

3 individual, and 

4 ‘‘(C) whether— 

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

6 a person relating to such unauthorized use, 

7 or 

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

9 criminal prosecution of such person and, to 

10 the extent such information is available, 

11 whether such person has been criminally 

12 charged by indictment or information. 

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

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

17 of the individual to obtain employment. 

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

21 has been or may have been an unauthorized use of 

22 the identity of an individual to obtain employment, 

23 the Secretary shall review any information— 

24 ‘‘(A) obtained from a statement described 

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1 ing to compensation for services rendered other 

2 than as an employee, or 

3 ‘‘(B) provided to the Internal Revenue 

4 Service by the Social Security Administration 

5 regarding any statement described in section 

6 6051, 

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

10 such statement or information return or the name 

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

13 (b) ADDITIONAL MEASURES.— 

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

17 shall examine the statements, information returns, 

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

19 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by 

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

23 paper. 

24 (2) IMPROVEMENT OF EFFECTIVE RETURN

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1 MINISTRATION.—Section 232 of the Social Security 

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

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

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

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

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

9 may be necessary to ensure the accuracy of the 

10 records maintained by the Commissioner of Social 

11 Security related to the amounts of wages paid to, 

12 and the amounts of self-employment income derived 

13 by, individuals.’’. 

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

16 procedures to ensure that income reported in con17 nection with the unauthorized use of a taxpayer’s 

18 identity is not taken into account in determining any 

19 penalty for underreporting of income by the victim 

20 of identity theft. 

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

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

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

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

25 this section shall apply to determinations made after the 


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1 date that is 6 months after the date of the enactment of 

2 this Act. 

3 SEC. 2009. GUIDELINES FOR STOLEN IDENTITY REFUND 

4 FRAUD CASES. 

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

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

7 Secretary’s delegate), in consultation with the National 

8 Taxpayer Advocate, shall develop and implement publicly 

9 available guidelines for management of cases involving sto10 len identity refund fraud in a manner that reduces the 

11 administrative burden on taxpayers who are victims of 

12 such fraud. 

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

16 (1) standards for— 

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

18 case involving stolen identity refund fraud 

19 should be resolved; 

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

23 which has been stolen should have to wait to re24 ceive such refund; and 


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1 (C) the maximum number of offices and 

2 employees within the Internal Revenue Service 

3 with whom a taxpayer who is a victim of stolen 

4 identity refund fraud should be required to 

5 interact in order to resolve a case; 

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

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

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

13 been successfully implemented. 

14 SEC. 2010. INCREASED PENALTY FOR IMPROPER DISCLO15 SURE OR USE OF INFORMATION BY PRE16 PARERS OF RETURNS. 

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

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

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

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

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

23 DISCLOSURE RELATING TO IDENTITY THEFT.— 

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

25 or use described in subsection (a) that is made in 


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

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

5 applied— 

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

7 and 

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

9 ‘$10,000’. 

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

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

13 applied separately with respect to disclosures or uses 

14 to which this subsection applies and to which it does 

15 not apply.’’. 

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

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

19 applies)’’. 

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

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

22 the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 Subtitle B—Development of 

2 Information Technology 

3 SEC. 2101. MANAGEMENT OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE 

4 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. 

5 (a) DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF INTERNAL

6 REVENUE SERVICE CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER.—Sec7 tion 7803, as amended by section 1001, is amended by 

8 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(f) INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE CHIEF INFORMA10 TION OFFICER.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in the Inter12 nal Revenue Service an Internal Revenue Service 

13 Chief Information Officer (hereafter referred to in 

14 this subsection as the ‘IRS CIO’) who shall be ap15 pointed by the Commissioner of the Internal Rev16 enue Service. 

17 ‘‘(2) CENTRALIZED RESPONSIBILITY FOR IN18 TERNAL REVENUE SERVICE INFORMATION TECH19 NOLOGY.—The Commissioner 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 Commissioner 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 Commissioner 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 Commissioner 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. 2102. DEVELOPMENT OF ONLINE ACCOUNTS AND POR2 TALS. 

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

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

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

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

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

13 forms, and supporting documentation, in digital or 

14 other electronic format. 

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

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

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

20 for, other services provided by the Internal Revenue 

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

22 assistance and services provided by phone; and 

23 (2) comply with applicable security standards 

24 and guidelines. 

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


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

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

3 Secretary shall submit to Congress a written report 

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

7 of taxpayers addressing and correcting issues 

8 through such accounts and whether access to such 

9 accounts should be restricted and in what manner. 

10 (2) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall make 

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

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

14 SEC. 2103. 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 SEC. 2104. STREAMLINED CRITICAL PAY AUTHORITY FOR 

16 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY POSITIONS. 

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

18 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 7812. STREAMLINED CRITICAL PAY AUTHORITY FOR 

20 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY POSITIONS. 

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

22 functionality of the information technology operations of 

23 the Internal Revenue Service— 

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

25 Code, shall be applied— 


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1 ‘‘(A) by substituting ‘during the period be2 ginning on the date of the enactment of section 

3 7812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

4 and ending on September 30, 2023’ for ‘Before 

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

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

7 of subsection (a)(1), and 

8 ‘‘(C) by substituting ‘the date of the enact9 ment of the Taxpayer First Act of 2018’ for 

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

11 ‘‘(2) section 9504 of such title 5 shall be ap12 plied by substituting ‘During the period beginning 

13 on the date of the enactment of section 7812 of the 

14 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and ending on Sep15 tember 30, 2023’ for ‘Before September 30, 2013’ 

16 each place it appears in subsections (a) and (b), and 

17 ‘‘(3) section 9505 of such title shall be ap18 plied— 

19 ‘‘(A) by substituting ‘During the period be20 ginning on the date of the enactment of section 

21 7812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

22 and ending on September 30, 2023’ for ‘Before 

23 September 30, 2013’ in subsection (a), and 


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1 ‘‘(B) by substituting ‘the information tech2 nology operations’ for ‘significant functions’ in 

3 subsection (a).’’. 

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

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

6 the end the following new item: 

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

7 Subtitle C—Modernization of Con8 sent-Based Income Verification 

9 System 

10 SEC. 2201. DISCLOSURE OF TAXPAYER INFORMATION FOR 

11 THIRD-PARTY INCOME VERIFICATION. 

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

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

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

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

16 shall implement a program to ensure that any qualified 

17 disclosure— 

18 (1) is fully automated and accomplished 

19 through the Internet; and 

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

21 is practicable. 

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

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

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


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1 1986 of returns or return information by the Secretary 

2 to a person seeking to verify the income or creditworthi3 ness of a taxpayer who is a borrower in the process of 

4 a loan application. 

5 (c) APPLICATION OF SECURITY STANDARDS.—The 

6 Secretary shall ensure that the program described in sub7 section (a) complies with applicable security standards and 

8 guidelines. 

9 (d) USER FEE.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—During the 2-year period be11 ginning on the first day of the 6th calendar month 

12 beginning after the date of the enactment of this 

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

14 qualified disclosures (in addition to any other fee as15 sessed and collected for such disclosures) at such 

16 rates as the Secretary determines are sufficient to 

17 cover the costs related to implementing the program 

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

19 any necessary infrastructure or technology. 

20 (2) DEPOSIT OF COLLECTIONS.—Amounts re21 ceived from fees assessed and collected under para22 graph (1) shall be deposited in, and credited to, an 

23 account solely for the purpose of carrying out the 

24 activities described in subsection (a). Such amounts 

25 shall be available to carry out such activities without 


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1 need of further appropriation and without fiscal year 

2 limitation. 

3 SEC. 2202. LIMIT REDISCLOSURES AND USES OF CONSENT4 BASED DISCLOSURES OF TAX RETURN INFOR5 MATION. 

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

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

8 the taxpayer under this subsection to receive return infor9 mation shall not use the information for any purpose other 

10 than the express purpose for which consent was granted 

11 and shall not disclose return information to any other per12 son without the express permission of, or request by, the 

13 taxpayer.’’. 

14 (b) APPLICATION OF PENALTIES.—Section 

15 6103(a)(3) is amended by inserting ‘‘subsection (c),’’ after 

16 ‘‘return information under’’. 

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

18 this section shall apply to disclosures made after the date 

19 of the enactment of this Act. 

20 Subtitle D—Expanded Use of 

21 Electronic Systems 

22 SEC. 2301. ELECTRONIC FILING OF RETURNS. 

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

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

25 of’’. 


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

2 amended by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the fol3 lowing new paragraphs: 

4 ‘‘(5) APPLICABLE NUMBER.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para6 graph (2)(A), the applicable number shall be— 

7 ‘‘(i) except as provided in subpara8 graph (B), in the case of calendar years 

9 before 2020, 250, 

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

11 2020, 100, and 

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

13 after 2020, 10. 

14 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR PARTNERSHIPS

15 FOR 2018 AND 2019.—In the case of a partner16 ship, for any calendar year before 2020, the ap17 plicable number shall be— 

18 ‘‘(i) in the case of calendar year 2018, 

19 200, and 

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

21 2019, 150. 

22 ‘‘(6) PARTNERSHIPS REQUIRED TO FILE ON

23 MAGNETIC MEDIA.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

24 (2)(A), the Secretary shall require partnerships havVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:51 Dec 11, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00088 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7227.IH H7227

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1 ing more than 100 partners to file returns on mag2 netic media.’’. 

3 (c) RETURNS FILED BY A TAX RETURN PRE4 PARER.—Section 6011(e)(3) is amended by adding at the 

5 end the following new subparagraph: 

6 ‘‘(D) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN PRE7 PARERS LOCATED IN AREAS WITHOUT INTER8 NET ACCESS.—The Secretary may waive the re9 quirement of subparagraph (A) if the Secretary 

10 determines, on the basis of an application by 

11 the tax return preparer, that the preparer can12 not meet such requirement by reason of being 

13 located in a geographic area which does not 

14 have access to internet service (other than dial15 up or satellite service).’’. 

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

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

18 of this Act. 

19 SEC. 2302. UNIFORM STANDARDS FOR THE USE OF ELEC20 TRONIC SIGNATURES FOR DISCLOSURE AU21 THORIZATIONS TO, AND OTHER AUTHORIZA22 TIONS OF, PRACTITIONERS. 

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

24 ‘‘(3) PUBLISHED GUIDANCE.— 


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

2 publish guidance as appropriate to define and 

3 implement any waiver of the signature require4 ments or any method adopted under paragraph 

5 (1). 

6 ‘‘(B) ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES FOR DIS7 CLOSURE AUTHORIZATIONS TO, AND OTHER AU8 THORIZATIONS OF, PRACTITIONERS.—Not later 

9 than 6 months after the date of the enactment 

10 of this subparagraph, the Secretary shall pub11 lish guidance to establish uniform standards 

12 and procedures for the acceptance of taxpayers’ 

13 signatures appearing in electronic form with re14 spect to any request for disclosure of a tax15 payer’s return or return information under sec16 tion 6103(c) to a practitioner or any power of 

17 attorney granted by a taxpayer to a practi18 tioner. 

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

20 subparagraph (B), the term ‘practitioner’ 

21 means any individual in good standing who is 

22 regulated under section 330 of title 31, United 

23 States Code.’’. 


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

2 CARDS. 

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

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

5 the extent that the Secretary ensures that any such fee 

6 or other consideration is fully recouped by the Secretary 

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

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

9 charge cards pursuant to such contract. Notwithstanding 

10 the preceding sentence, the Secretary shall seek to mini11 mize the amount of any fee or other consideration that 

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

13 SEC. 2304. REQUIREMENT THAT ELECTRONICALLY PRE14 PARED PAPER RETURNS INCLUDE SCAN15 NABLE CODE. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (e) of section 6011, as 

17 amended by this Act, is amended by adding at the end 

18 the following new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(7) SPECIAL RULE FOR RETURNS PREPARED

20 ELECTRONICALLY AND SUBMITTED ON PAPER.—The 

21 Secretary shall require that any return of tax which 

22 is prepared electronically, but is printed and filed on 

23 paper, bear a code which can, when scanned, convert 

24 such return to electronic format.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (1) of 

2 section 6011(e) is amended by striking ‘‘paragraph (3)’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (3) and (7)’’. 

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

5 this section shall apply to returns of tax the due date for 

6 which (determined without regard to extensions) is after 

7 December 31, 2020. 

8 SEC. 2305. AUTHENTICATION OF USERS OF ELECTRONIC 

9 SERVICES ACCOUNTS. 

10 Beginning 180 days after the date of the enactment 

11 of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury (or the Sec12 retary’s delegate) shall verify the identity of any individual 

13 opening an e-Services account with the Internal Revenue 

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

15 tools. 

16 Subtitle E—Other Provisions 

17 SEC. 2401. REPEAL OF PROVISION REGARDING CERTAIN 

18 TAX COMPLIANCE PROCEDURES AND RE19 PORTS. 

20 Section 2004 of the Internal Revenue Service Re21 structuring and Reform Act of 1998 (26 U.S.C. 6012 

22 note) is repealed. 

23 SEC. 2402. COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING STRATEGY. 

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

25 of this Act, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall 


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1 submit to Congress a written report providing a com2 prehensive training strategy for employees of the Internal 

3 Revenue Service, including— 

4 (1) a plan to streamline current training proc5 esses, including an assessment of the utility of fur6 ther consolidating internal training programs, tech7 nology, and funding; 

8 (2) a plan to develop annual training regarding 

9 taxpayer rights, including the role of the Office of 

10 the Taxpayer Advocate, for employees that interface 

11 with taxpayers and their managers; 

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

13 (4) proposals to— 

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

15 and efficient resolution of taxpayer disputes for 

16 employees that interface with taxpayers and 

17 their managers; and 

18 (B) ensure consistency of skill development 

19 and employee evaluation throughout the Inter20 nal Revenue Service; and 

21 (5) a thorough assessment of the funding nec22 essary to implement such strategy. 


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1 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS 

2 PROVISIONS 

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

6 SEC. 3001. ELECTRONIC RECORD RETENTION. 

7 (a) RETENTION OF RECORDS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Email records of the Inter9 nal Revenue Service shall be retained in an appro10 priate electronic system that supports records man11 agement and litigation requirements, including the 

12 capability to identify, retrieve, and retain the 

13 records, in accordance with the requirements de14 scribed in paragraph (2). 

15 (2) REQUIREMENTS.— 

16 (A) PRIOR TO CERTIFICATION.—The Com17 missioner of Internal Revenue and the Chief 

18 Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service shall 

19 retain all email records generated on or after 

20 the date of the enactment of this Act and be21 fore the date on which the Treasury Inspector 

22 General for Tax Administration makes the cer23 tification under subsection (c)(1). 

24 (B) PRINCIPAL OFFICERS AND SPECIFIED

25 EMPLOYEES.—Not later than December 31, 


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1 2019, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue 

2 and the Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue 

3 Service shall maintain email records of all prin4 cipal officers and specified employees of the In5 ternal Revenue Service for a period of not less 

6 than 15 years beginning on the date such 

7 record was generated. 

8 (b) TRANSMISSION OF RECORDS TO THE NATIONAL

9 ARCHIVES.—Not later than 15 years after the date on 

10 which an email record of a principal officer or specified 

11 employee of the Internal Revenue Service is generated, the 

12 Commissioner of Internal Revenue and the Chief Counsel 

13 for the Internal Revenue Service shall transfer such email 

14 record to the Archivist of the United States. 

15 (c) COMPLIANCE.— 

16 (1) CERTIFICATION.—On the date that the 

17 Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration 

18 determines that the Internal Revenue Service has a 

19 program in place that complies with the require20 ments of subsections (a)(2)(B) and (b), the Treas21 ury Inspector General for Tax Administration shall 

22 certify to the Committee on Ways and Means of the 

23 House of Representatives and the Committee on Fi24 nance of the Senate that the Internal Revenue Serv25 ice is in compliance with such requirements. 


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1 (2) REPORTS.— 

2 (A) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than De3 cember 31, 2019, the Treasury Inspector Gen4 eral for Tax Administration shall submit a re5 port to the Committee on Ways and Means of 

6 the House of Representatives and the Com7 mittee on Finance of the Senate on the steps 

8 being taken by the Commissioner of Internal 

9 Revenue and the Chief Counsel for the Internal 

10 Revenue Service to comply with the require11 ments of subsections (a)(2)(B) and (b). 

12 (B) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than April 

13 1, 2020, the Treasury Inspector General for 

14 Tax Administration shall submit a report to the 

15 Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 

16 Representatives and the Committee on Finance 

17 of the Senate describing whether the Internal 

18 Revenue Service is in compliance with the re19 quirements of subsections (a)(2)(B) and (b). 

20 (d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

21 (1) PRINCIPAL OFFICER.—The term ‘‘principal 

22 officer’’ means, with respect to the Internal Revenue 

23 Service— 

24 (A) any employee whose position is listed 

25 under the Internal Revenue Service in the most 


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1 recent version of the United States Government 

2 Manual published by the Office of the Federal 

3 Register; 

4 (B) any employee who is a senior staff 

5 member reporting directly to the Commissioner 

6 of Internal Revenue or the Chief Counsel for 

7 the Internal Revenue Service; and 

8 (C) any associate counsel, deputy counsel, 

9 or division head in the Office of the Chief 

10 Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service. 

11 (2) SPECIFIED EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘speci12 fied employee’’ means, with respect to the Internal 

13 Revenue Service, any employee who— 

14 (A) holds a Senior Executive Service posi15 tion (as defined in section 3132 of title 5, 

16 United States Code) in the Internal Revenue 

17 Service or the Office of Chief Counsel for the 

18 Internal Revenue Service; and 

19 (B) is not a principal officer of the Inter20 nal Revenue Service. 


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1 SEC. 3002. PROHIBITION ON REHIRING ANY EMPLOYEE OF 

2 THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE WHO WAS 

3 INVOLUNTARILY SEPARATED FROM SERVICE 

4 FOR MISCONDUCT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7804 is amended by add6 ing at the end the following new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITION ON REHIRING EMPLOYEES INVOL8 UNTARILY SEPARATED.—The Commissioner may not hire 

9 any individual previously employed by the Commissioner 

10 who was removed for misconduct under this subchapter 

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

12 or whose employment was terminated under section 1203 

13 of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform 

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

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

16 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to the hiring of em17 ployees after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 3003. NOTIFICATION OF UNAUTHORIZED INSPECTION 

19 OR DISCLOSURE OF RETURNS AND RETURN 

20 INFORMATION. 

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

22 amended by adding at the end the following new sen23 tences: ‘‘The Secretary shall also notify such taxpayer if 

24 the Internal Revenue Service or a Federal or State agency 

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

26 agency) proposes an administrative determination as to 


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1 disciplinary or adverse action against an employee arising 

2 from the employee’s unauthorized inspection or disclosure 

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

4 described in this subsection shall include the date of the 

5 unauthorized inspection or disclosure and the rights of the 

6 taxpayer under such administrative determination.’’. 

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

8 this section shall apply to determinations proposed after 

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

10 of this Act. 

11 Subtitle B—Provisions Relating to 

12 Exempt Organizations 

13 SEC. 3101. MANDATORY E-FILING BY EXEMPT ORGANIZA14 TIONS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6033 is amended by re16 designating subsection (n) as subsection (o) and by insert17 ing after subsection (m) the following new subsection: 

18 ‘‘(n) MANDATORY ELECTRONIC FILING.—Any orga19 nization required to file a return under this section shall 

20 file such return in electronic form.’’. 

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

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

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

24 (c) INSPECTION OF ELECTRONICALLY FILED AN25 NUAL RETURNS.—Subsection (b) of section 6104 is 


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

2 return required to be filed electronically under section 

3 6033(n) shall be made available by the Secretary to the 

4 public as soon as practicable in a machine readable for5 mat.’’. 

6 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para8 graph (2), the amendments made by this section 

9 shall apply to taxable years beginning after the date 

10 of the enactment of this Act. 

11 (2) TRANSITIONAL RELIEF.— 

12 (A) SMALL ORGANIZATIONS.— 

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

14 small organizations, or any other organiza15 tions for which the Secretary of the Treas16 ury or the Secretary’s delegate (hereafter 

17 referred to in this paragraph as the ‘‘Sec18 retary’’) determines the application of the 

19 amendments made by this section would 

20 cause undue burden without a delay, the 

21 Secretary may delay the application of 

22 such amendments, but such delay shall not 

23 apply to any taxable year beginning on or 

24 after the date 2 years after of the enact25 ment of this Act. 


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1 (ii) SMALL ORGANIZATION.—For pur2 poses of clause (i), the term ‘‘small organi3 zation’’ means any organization— 

4 (I) the gross receipts of which for 

5 the taxable year are less than 

6 $200,000; and 

7 (II) the aggregate gross assets of 

8 which at the end of the taxable year 

9 are less than $500,000. 

10 (B) ORGANIZATIONS FILING FORM 990– 

11 T.—In the case of any organization described 

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

13 Code of 1986 which is subject to the tax im14 posed by section 511(a)(1) of such Code on its 

15 unrelated business taxable income, or any orga16 nization required to file a return under section 

17 6033 of such Code and include information 

18 under subsection (e) thereof, the Secretary may 

19 delay the application of the amendments made 

20 by this section, but such delay shall not apply 

21 to any taxable year beginning on or after the 

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


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1 SEC. 3102. NOTICE REQUIRED BEFORE REVOCATION OF 

2 TAX EXEMPT STATUS FOR FAILURE TO FILE 

3 RETURN. 

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

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

6 ‘‘(A) NOTICE.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After an organiza8 tion described in subsection (a)(1) or (i) 

9 fails to file the annual return or notice re10 quired under either subsection for 2 con11 secutive years, the Secretary shall notify 

12 the organization— 

13 ‘‘(I) that the Internal Revenue 

14 Service has no record of such a return 

15 or notice from such organization for 2 

16 consecutive years, and 

17 ‘‘(II) about the revocation that 

18 will occur under subparagraph (B) if 

19 the organization fails to file such a re20 turn or notice by the due date for the 

21 next such return or notice required to 

22 be filed. 

23 The notification under the preceding sen24 tence shall include information about how 

25 to comply with the filing requirements 

26 under subsection (a)(1) and (i). 


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

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

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

4 for 2 consecutive years if the return or notice for the sec5 ond year is required to be filed after December 31, 2018. 

6 Subtitle C—Tax Court 

7 SEC. 3301. DISQUALIFICATION OF JUDGE OR MAGISTRATE 

8 JUDGE OF THE TAX COURT. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part II of subchapter C of chap10 ter 76 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

11 section: 

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

13 JUDGE OF THE TAX COURT. 

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

15 apply to judges and magistrate judges of the Tax Court 

16 and to proceedings of the Tax Court.’’. 

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

18 for such part is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing new item: 

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

20 SEC. 3302. OPINIONS AND JUDGMENTS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7459 is amended by strik22 ing all that precedes subsection (c) and inserting the fol23 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 7459. OPINIONS AND JUDGMENTS. 

2 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—An opinion upon any pro3 ceeding instituted before the Tax Court and a judgment 

4 thereon shall be made as quickly as practicable. The judg5 ment shall be made by a judge in accordance with the 

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

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

8 ‘‘(b) INCLUSION OF FINDINGS OF FACT IN OPIN9 ION.—It shall be the duty of the Tax Court and of each 

10 division to include in its opinion or memorandum opinion 

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

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

13 and memorandum opinions. Subject to such conditions as 

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

15 this subsection and of section 7460 are met if findings 

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

17 transcript of the proceedings.’’. 

18 (b) REFERENCES.—Section 7459 is amended by re19 designating subsection (g) as subsection (h) and by insert20 ing after subsection (f) the following new subsection: 

21 ‘‘(g) REFERENCES.—Any reference in this title to a 

22 decision or report of the Tax Court shall be treated as 

23 a reference to a judgment or opinion of the Tax Court, 

24 respectively.’’. 


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1 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item relating 

2 to section 7459 in the table of sections for part II of sub3 chapter C of chapter 76 is amended to read as follows: 

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

4 (d) CONTINUING EFFECT OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS.— 

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

6 grants, contracts, certificates, licenses, registrations, privi7 leges, and other administrative actions, in connection with 

8 the Tax Court, which are in effect at the time this section 

9 takes effect, or were final before the effective date of this 

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

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

12 their terms until modified, terminated, superseded, set 

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

14 SEC. 3303. TITLE OF SPECIAL TRIAL JUDGE CHANGED TO 

15 MAGISTRATE JUDGE OF THE TAX COURT. 

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

17 (1) by striking ‘‘special trial judges’’ in sub18 sections (a) and (e) and inserting ‘‘magistrate 

19 judges of the Tax Court’’; 

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

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

22 judges of the Tax Court’’; and 

23 (3) by striking ‘‘special trial judge’’ in sub24 sections (c) and (d) and inserting ‘‘magistrate judge 

25 of the Tax Court’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

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

3 by striking ‘‘SPECIAL TRIAL JUDGES’’ and insert4 ing ‘‘MAGISTRATE JUDGES OF THE TAX

5 COURT’’. 

6 (2) The heading of section 7443A(b) is amend7 ed by striking ‘‘SPECIAL TRIAL JUDGES’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘MAGISTRATE JUDGES OF THE TAX COURT’’. 

9 (3) The item relating to section 7443A in the 

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

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

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

13 striking ‘‘SPECIAL TRIAL JUDGES’’ and inserting 

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

15 (5) Section 7448 is amended— 

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

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

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

19 of the Tax Court’s’’; and 

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

21 place it appears other than in subsection (n) 

22 and inserting ‘‘magistrate judge of the Tax 

23 Court’’. 

24 (6) Section 7448(n) is amended— 


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

2 are allowable’’ and inserting ‘‘magistrate judge 

3 of the Tax Court which are allowable’’; and 

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

5 Tax Court’’ both places it appears and inserting 

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

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

8 amended by striking ‘‘SPECIAL TRIAL JUDGES’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘MAGISTRATE JUDGES OF THE TAX

10 COURT’’. 

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

12 table of sections for part I of subchapter C of chap13 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.’’. 

14 (9) Section 7456(a) is amended— 

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

16 place it appears and inserting ‘‘magistrate 

17 judge’’; and 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘(or by the clerk’’ and in19 serting ‘‘of the Tax Court (or by the clerk’’. 

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

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

22 judge’’. 

23 (11) Section 7470A is amended by striking 

24 ‘‘special trial judges’’ both places it appears in subVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:51 Dec 11, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00107 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7227.IH H7227

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1 sections (a) and (b) and inserting ‘‘magistrate 

2 judges’’. 

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

4 striking ‘‘special trial judges’’ and inserting ‘‘mag5 istrate judges’’. 

6 (13) Section 7471(c) is amended— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘SPECIAL TRIAL JUDGES’’ 

8 in the heading and inserting ‘‘MAGISTRATE

9 JUDGES OF THE TAX COURT’’; and 

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

11 inserting ‘‘magistrate judges’’. 

12 SEC. 3304. REPEAL OF DEADWOOD RELATED TO BOARD OF 

13 TAX APPEALS. 

14 (a) Section 7459, as amended by this Act, is amended 

15 by striking subsection (f) and by redesignating subsections 

16 (g) and (h) as subsections (f) and (g), respectively. 

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

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

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

20 United States there shall be included all periods 

21 (whether or not consecutive) during which an indi22 vidual served as judge.’’. 

Æ 


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