I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1996 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the Consumer Financial 
Protection Act of 2010 to regulate tax return preparers and refund 
anticipation payment arrangements, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 6, 2017 
Ms. BONAMICI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Finan-
cial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the Con-
sumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to regulate tax 
return preparers and refund anticipation payment ar-
rangements, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tax Refund Protection 
Act of 2017’’. 
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SEC. 2. REGULATION OF TAX RETURN PREPARERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter A of chapter 80 of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 
the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 7812. REGULATION OF TAX RETURN PREPARERS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 
‘‘(1) establish a program to license or certify 
tax return preparers subject to this section, 
‘‘(2) regulate such tax return preparers, and 
‘‘(3) before licensing or certifying a person as 
a tax return preparer subject to this section, require 
that the person demonstrate— 
‘‘(A) good character, 
‘‘(B) good reputation, 
‘‘(C) necessary qualifications to enable the 
person to provide to persons valuable service as 
a tax return preparer, and 
‘‘(D) competency to perform the functions 
of a tax return preparer. 
‘‘(b) AUTHORITY TO IMPOSE A FEE.—The Secretary 
shall require tax return preparers subject to this section 
to pay a reasonable fee for licensing or certification under 
this section. 
‘‘(c) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 
shall, by rule, require tax return preparers subject to this 
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section to provide a disclosure statement to taxpayers that 
shall contain statements— 
‘‘(1) identifying the amount of fees such tax re-
turn preparer charges for preparing a Federal in-
come tax return, filing a Federal income tax return, 
or executing a refund anticipation payment arrange-
ment, and 
‘‘(2) identifying the average amount of time in 
which an individual who files a Federal income tax 
return electronically can expect to receive a refund 
by mail, according to information provided by the 
Internal Revenue Service. 
‘‘(d) DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES.—After notice and 
opportunity for a hearing, the Secretary may take any en-
forcement action against a tax return preparer subject to 
this section who— 
‘‘(1) is incompetent, 
‘‘(2) is disreputable, 
‘‘(3) violates regulations prescribed under this 
section, or 
‘‘(4) with intent to defraud, willfully and know-
ingly misleads or threatens a consumer. 
‘‘(e) TAX RETURN PREPARER SUBJECT
TO SEC-
TION.—A tax return preparer is subject to this section if 
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such preparer is not subject to section 330 of title 31, 
United States Code. 
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 
‘‘(1) TAX
RETURN
PREPARER.—See section 
7701(a)(36) for the definition of a tax return pre-
parer. 
‘‘(2) REFUND
ANTICIPATION
PAYMENT
AR-
RANGEMENT.—The term ‘refund anticipation pay-
ment arrangement’ has the meaning given such term 
by section 1029B(d)(2) of the Consumer Financial 
Protection Act of 2010.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for subchapter A of chapter 80 of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after the item re-
lated to section 7811 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 7812. Regulation of tax return preparers.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply with respect to returns filed after 
December 31, 2017. 
SEC. 3. REGULATION OF REFUND ANTICIPATION PAYMENT 
INSTRUMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of the Consumer Fi-
nancial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 
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‘‘SEC. 1029B. REGULATION OF REFUND ANTICIPATION PAY-
MENT ARRANGEMENTS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau shall regulate re-
fund anticipation payment arrangements. 
‘‘(b) DISCLOSURE
REQUIREMENTS.—The Bureau 
shall, by rule, require tax return preparers subject to this 
section offering a refund anticipation payment agreement 
to provide a disclosure statement to a consumer that shall 
contain statements— 
‘‘(1) identifying the amount of fees for exe-
cuting a refund anticipation payment arrangement; 
‘‘(2) describing, in the case of a refund antici-
pation payment arrangement involving a depository 
account not controlled by the consumer, the dif-
ference in days between the average amount of time 
by which a consumer receives the tax refund (in 
whole or in part) from a refund anticipation pay-
ment arrangement and the average amount of time 
by which a consumer who files a Federal income tax 
return electronically receives the tax refund depos-
ited directly to that consumer’s deposit account by 
the taxing authority; 
‘‘(3) that a refund anticipation payment ar-
rangement is not necessary to receive a tax refund; 
and 
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‘‘(4) that, if a consumer does not receive a tax 
refund or the amount of the tax refund is less than 
the amount anticipated under the refund anticipa-
tion payment arrangement, the consumer may be re-
sponsible for paying any fees and interest associated 
with a refund anticipation payment arrangement. 
‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS UNDER TILA.—The Bureau 
shall issue regulations that, to the extent practicable, re-
quire tax return preparers that enter into a refund antici-
pation payment arrangement to comply with section 128 
of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1638) to the same 
extent as a creditor making a consumer credit transaction 
other than under an open end credit plan. 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 
following definitions shall apply: 
‘‘(1) TAX RETURN PREPARER.—The term ‘tax 
return preparer subject to this section’ means a tax 
return preparer (as defined in section 7701(a)(36) 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) who is not 
subject to regulation under section 330 of title 31, 
United States Code. 
‘‘(2) REFUND
ANTICIPATION
PAYMENT
AR-
RANGEMENT.—The term ‘refund anticipation pay-
ment arrangement’ means an arrangement under 
which, in exchange for Federal income tax prepara-
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