Title: Rural IRS Accountability Act
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
Rural IRS Accountability Act
This bill changes the time period for sending notices of delinquency to taxpayers from annually to quarterly. It also revises the period for bringing civil actions for unauthorized tax collection practices.
The bill provides that tax payments made through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System of the Department of the Treasury that are required to be made within a prescribed period or on or before a prescribed date shall be treated as made on the last day of either such prescribed period or on such prescribed date, thus making the mailbox rule (also known as the posting rule) applicable to such payments. Such rule provides that payments are considered made on the date they are postmarked.
The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to study and report on tax filing efforts in rural areas.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7844 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7844

   To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to improve tax filing 
            efforts in rural areas, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 19, 2022

 Mr. Jackson introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to improve tax filing 
            efforts in rural areas, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Rural IRS Accountability Act''.

SEC. 2. QUARTERLY NOTICES OF DELINQUENCY.

    (a) In General.--Section 7524 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
is amended--
            (1) in the heading, by striking ``annual'' and inserting 
        ``quarterly'', and
            (2) by striking ``annually'' and inserting ``each calendar 
        quarter''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to calendar quarters beginning after December 31, 2022.

SEC. 3. PERIOD FOR BRINGING ACTION.

    (a) In General.--Section 7433(d)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended to read as follows:
            ``(3) Period for bringing action.--Notwithstanding any 
        other provision of law, an action to enforce liability created 
        under this section may be brought without regard to the amount 
        in controversy and may be brought--
                    ``(A) within 2 years after the date the right of 
                action accrues, or
                    ``(B) no later than two years from the date on 
                which the Internal Revenue Service mails its decision 
                on the administrative claim to the taxpayer by 
                certified or registered mail.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply 
to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2022.

SEC. 4. APPLICATION OF MAILBOX RULE TO CERTAIN PAYMENTS MADE THROUGH 
              THE ELECTRONIC FEDERAL TAX PAYMENT SYSTEM.

    (a) In General.--Section 7502 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(g) Payments Made Through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment 
System.--
            ``(1) In general.--A qualified Electronic Federal Tax 
        Payment System payment which is required to be made within a 
        prescribed period or on or before a prescribed date under 
        authority of any provision of this title shall be treated as 
        made on the last day of such prescribed period or on such 
        prescribed date, as the case may be.
            ``(2) Qualified electronic federal tax payment system 
        payment.--For purposes of this subsection, the term `qualified 
        Electronic Federal Tax Payment System payment' means any 
        payment if--
                    ``(A) such payment is made through the Department 
                of the Treasury's Electronic Federal Tax Payment System 
                (and such payment is not required under any provision 
                of this title to be made in another manner),
                    ``(B) such payment is authorized to be made at the 
                earliest time such payment can be made through such 
                System following such authorization, and
                    ``(C) such authorization is provided within the 
                prescribed period referred to in paragraph (1) or on or 
                before the prescribed date referred to in paragraph 
                (1), as the case may be.
            ``(3) Application of certain exceptions, including 
        requirement that payment be permitted to be made by mailing.--
        For certain payments to which this subsection does not apply, 
        see subsection (d).''.

SEC. 5. REPORT ON IMPROVEMENT OF TAX FILING EFFORTS IN RURAL AREAS.

    (a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
conduct a study to identify, with respect to tax filing efforts in 
rural areas--
            (1) actions that can be taken to improve such practices and 
        efforts,
            (2) hinderances to such practices and efforts, if any, and
            (3) legislative authority that is lacking or could be 
        helpful to improve such practices and efforts, if any.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 
of this section, and every 180 days thereafter until the date which is 
three years after such enactment, the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall provide to the appropriate Congressional committees a 
report on the results of the study under subsection (a), which shall 
include--
            (1) a comprehensive plan of action that includes specific 
        steps that need to be taken to address any problems identified 
        pursuant to such study, and
            (2) a description of all actions taken, as of the date of 
        the report, in furtherance of such comprehensive plan of 
        action.
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