Earned Income and Child Tax Credits Outreach Act of 2020

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct outreach to inform certain individuals of their potential eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Earned Income and Child Tax Credits Outreach Act of 2020 2. Outreach to certain individuals regarding the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit (a) In general Not later than January 31, 2021, and again before January 31, 2022, the Secretary of the Treasury shall carry out a program of public outreach, including on the internet and through mailed notices, to inform identified individuals of their potential eligibility for the earned income tax credit under section 32 (b) Identified individuals The term identified individuals (c) Non-Filer portal The term non-filer portal section 6428 (d) Notice contents Mailed notices sent to identified individuals under subsection (a) shall provide— (1) a description of the earned income tax credit and the qualifications for receiving such credit, (2) a description of the child tax credit and the qualifications for receiving such credit, (3) information on the availability of, and eligibility requirements for receiving, advice and assistance from qualified return preparation programs as defined in section 7526A(e)(1) (4) information on the availability of, and eligibility requirements for receiving, advice and assistance from organizations that provide tax counseling for the elderly pursuant to a cooperative agreement with the Internal Revenue Service under section 163 of the Revenue Act of 1978 ( Public Law 95–600 3. Effectiveness study (a) Study The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration shall conduct a study to— (1) evaluate the outreach conducted under section 2(a), including— (A) a description of communications the Internal Revenue Service issued, (B) the date the Internal Revenue Service issued communications on the internet and the date mailed notices were sent, (C) whether the information provided on the internet and in mailed notices adequately described the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit and the qualifications for receiving such credits, (D) in what languages such communications were offered, (E) the number of filers who used the non-filer portal to properly claim recovery rebate payments, (F) the number of mailed notices that were returned to the IRS as undeliverable each year, and (G) whether, in year 2021, the Secretary of the Treasury developed and applied performance measurement standards and evaluated the effectiveness of the outreach, and what changes were made in 2022 as a result of such evaluation, and (2) make recommendations for improving outreach to expand the use of the credits by identified individuals. (b) Report Not later than December 31, 2022, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Senate Committee on Finance a report on the results of the study conducted under subsection (a).

Summary: Earned Income and Child Tax Credits Outreach Act of 2020 This bill directs the Department of the Treasury, in January of 2021 and January of 2022, to carry out a public outreach program to inform individual taxpayers of their potential eligibility for the earned income and child tax credits. The Inspector General for Tax Administration of Treasury must study the outreach program and make recommendations for improving it.