I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5375 
To regulate tax return preparers and refund anticipation payment 
arrangements. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 27, 2021 
Ms. BONAMICI (for herself and Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To regulate tax return preparers and refund anticipation 
payment arrangements. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. REGULATION OF TAX RETURN PREPARERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 330 of title 31, United 
States Code, is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘§ 330. Practice before the department and tax return 
preparers 
‘‘(a) Subject to section 500 of title 5, the Secretary 
of the Treasury may— 
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‘‘(1) regulate the practice of representatives of 
persons before the Department of the Treasury 
through licensure; 
‘‘(2) certify the practice of tax return pre-
parers; and 
‘‘(3) before admitting a representative or a tax 
return preparer to practice, require that the rep-
resentative or tax return preparer demonstrate— 
‘‘(A) good character; 
‘‘(B) good reputation; 
‘‘(C) necessary qualifications to enable the 
representative or tax return preparer to provide 
to persons valuable service; and 
‘‘(D) competency to advise and assist per-
sons in presenting their cases or in preparing 
tax returns, claims for refund, or other submis-
sions related to the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 or other laws or regulations administered 
by the Internal Revenue Service. 
‘‘(b) Any enrolled agents properly licensed to practice 
as required under rules promulgated under subsection (a) 
shall be allowed to use the credentials or designation of 
‘enrolled agent’, ‘EA’, or ‘E.A.’. 
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‘‘(c)(1) After notice and opportunity for a proceeding, 
the Secretary may, with respect to a representative or tax 
return preparer who is described in paragraph (2)— 
‘‘(A) suspend or disbar from practice before the 
Department a representative; 
‘‘(B) decertify a tax return preparer; or 
‘‘(C) censure a representative or tax return pre-
parer. 
‘‘(2) A representative or tax return preparer is de-
scribed in this paragraph if the representative or tax re-
turn preparer— 
‘‘(A) is incompetent; 
‘‘(B) is disreputable; 
‘‘(C) violates regulations prescribed under this 
section; or 
‘‘(D) with intent to defraud, willfully and know-
ingly misleads or threatens the person being rep-
resented or a prospective person to be represented. 
‘‘(3) The Secretary may impose a monetary penalty 
on any representative or tax return preparer described in 
paragraph (2). If the representative or tax return preparer 
was acting on behalf of an employer or any firm or other 
entity in connection with the conduct giving rise to such 
penalty, the Secretary may impose a monetary penalty on 
such employer, firm, or entity if it knew, or reasonably 
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should have known, of such conduct. Such penalty shall 
not exceed the gross income derived (or to be derived) 
from the conduct giving rise to the penalty and may be 
in addition to, or in lieu of, any suspension of the rep-
resentative, the decertification of the tax return preparer, 
or censure of the representative or the tax return preparer. 
‘‘(d) After notice and opportunity for a hearing to 
any appraiser, the Secretary may— 
‘‘(1) provide that appraisals by such appraiser 
shall not have any probative effect in any adminis-
trative proceeding before the Department of the 
Treasury or the Internal Revenue Service, and 
‘‘(2) bar such appraiser from presenting evi-
dence or testimony in any such proceeding. 
‘‘(e) Nothing in this section or in any other provision 
of law shall be construed to limit the authority of the Sec-
retary of the Treasury to impose standards applicable to 
the rendering of written advice with respect to any entity, 
transaction plan or arrangement, or other plan or arrange-
ment, which is of a type which the Secretary determines 
as having a potential for tax avoidance or evasion. 
‘‘(f)(1) The Secretary of the Treasury may impose 
fees on tax return preparers necessary to implement such 
programs as required by subsection (a). 
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‘‘(2) In addition to paragraph (1), the Commissioner 
of Internal Revenue may impose an annual fee necessary 
for any competency testing and training required for licen-
sure and certification under this section. 
‘‘(3) Nothing in this section may be construed to limit 
the authority of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to 
issue orders and establish fees related to the other pur-
poses, including the issuing of Preparer Tax Identification 
Numbers. 
‘‘(g) For purposes of this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘tax return preparer’ has the 
meaning given such term by section 7701(a)(36) of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 
‘‘(2) the term ‘tax return’ has the meaning 
given to the term ‘return’ under section 6696(e)(1) 
of such Code; and 
‘‘(3) the term ‘claim for refund’ has the mean-
ing given such term under section 6696(e)(2) of 
such Code.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis 
for chapter 3 of title 31, United States Code, is amended 
by striking the item relating to section 330 and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘330. Practice before the department and tax return preparers.’’. 
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SEC. 2. CLARIFYING AUTHORITY TO IMPOSE CIVIL PEN-
ALTIES FOR IMPROPER DISCLOSURES. 
Subsection (c) of section 6713 of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(c) EXCEPTIONS.— 
‘‘(1) 
EXCEPTIONS.—The 
rules 
of 
section 
7216(b) shall apply for purposes of this section. 
‘‘(2) CROSS REFERENCE.—See section 7216 for 
criminal penalty for disclosure or use of information 
by preparers of returns.’’. 
SEC. 3. REGULATION OF REFUND ANTICIPATION PAYMENT 
INSTRUMENTS. 
(a) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR TAX RETURN 
PREPARERS.—Subchapter A of chapter 80 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end 
the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 7813. DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR TAX RETURN 
PREPARERS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may require tax 
return preparers to provide disclosures to a person receiv-
ing tax return preparation services or a prospective person 
to receive such services. Such disclosures shall— 
‘‘(1) identify the amount of fees the tax return 
preparer charges for preparing a tax return, filing a 
tax return, submitting a claim for refund, executing 
a refund anticipation payment arrangement, or sub-
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mitting other submissions related to this title or 
other laws or regulations administered by the Inter-
nal Revenue Service, 
‘‘(2) identify where on the website published by 
the Internal Revenue Service the average amount of 
time in which an individual who files a Federal in-
come tax return can expect to receive a refund, 
‘‘(3) in the case of a refund anticipation pay-
ment arrangement involving a depository account 
not controlled by the person receiving tax return 
preparation services or a prospective person to re-
ceive such services, describe— 
‘‘(A) the difference in days between the av-
erage amount of time by which a person receiv-
ing tax return preparation services or a pro-
spective person to receive such services receives 
the tax refund (in whole or in part) from a re-
fund anticipation payment arrangement, and 
‘‘(B) the average amount of time by which 
a person receiving tax return preparation serv-
ices or a prospective person to receive such 
services who files a Federal income tax return 
electronically receives the tax refund deposited 
directly to that person’s account by the taxing 
authority, 
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‘‘(4) state that a refund anticipation payment 
arrangement is not necessary to receive a tax re-
fund, 
‘‘(5) state that, if a person receiving tax return 
preparation services or a prospective person to re-
ceive such services does not receive a tax refund or 
the amount of the tax refund is less than the 
amount anticipated under the refund anticipation 
payment arrangement, the person receiving tax re-
turn preparation services or a prospective person to 
receive such services may be responsible for paying 
any fees and interest associated with a refund antici-
pation payment arrangement, and 
‘‘(6) include any such other disclosures not 
specified in the preceding paragraphs to carry out 
this section that the Secretary deems appropriate. 
‘‘(b) REFUND ANTICIPATION PAYMENT ARRANGE-
MENT DEFINED.—For purposes of this section, the term 
‘refund anticipation payment arrangement’ means an ar-
rangement under which, in exchange for Federal income 
tax preparation services, a consumer agrees to pay a fee 
or interest upon receipt of the consumer’s tax refund to 
a tax return preparer, lender, or other affiliated lender 
by— 
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‘‘(1) requesting the Federal Government to de-
posit such tax refund, in whole or in part, directly 
into a depository account designated by either the 
consumer or the tax return preparer, lender, or 
other affiliated lender, or 
‘‘(2) directly paying the fee or interest to the 
tax return preparer, lender, or other affiliated lend-
er.’’. 
(b) FAILURE TO DISCLOSE.—Part I of subchapter 
B of chapter 68 of such Code is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 6720D. FAILURE TO MEET DISCLOSURE REQUIRE-
MENTS FOR TAX RETURN PREPARERS. 
‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—If a tax return preparer fails 
to meet the requirements of section 7813, the Secretary 
may impose a penalty of up to $1,000 per each such fail-
ure. 
‘‘(b) PENALTY
IN
ADDITION
TO
OTHER
PEN-
ALTIES.—The penalty imposed by this section shall be in 
addition to any other penalty imposed by law.’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) The table of sections for subchapter B of 
chapter 68 of such Code is amended by inserting 
after the item related to section 6720C the following 
new item: 
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‘‘Sec. 6720D. Failure to meet disclosure requirements for tax return pre-
parers.’’. 
(2) The table of sections for subchapter A of 
chapter 80 of such Code is amended by inserting 
after the item related to section 7812 the following 
new item: 
‘‘Sec. 7813. Disclosure requirements for tax return preparers.’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply with respect to returns filed after 
December 31, 2021. 
Æ 
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