[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3832 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3832

   To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to prevent tax-related 
         identity theft and tax fraud, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 26, 2015

Mr. Renacci (for himself, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Roskam, Mr. Buchanan, and Mr. 
  Reichert) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on the 
 Judiciary, 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 prevent tax-related 
         identity theft and tax fraud, 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 ``Stolen Identify Refund Fraud 
Prevention Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF DUE DATES FOR CERTAIN INFORMATION FILING 
              RETURNS.

    (a) Accelerated Filing of Forms W-2 and W-3.--
            (1) In general.--Section 6071 of the Internal Revenue Code 
        of 1986 is amended by redesignating subsection (c) as 
        subsection (d), and by inserting after subsection (b) the 
        following new subsection:
    ``(c) Returns Relating to Employee Wage Information and Forms 1099-
MISC.--Returns and statements made under sections 6051 and 6052, and 
any payments required to be reported on Form 1099-MISC with respect to 
nonemployee compensation, shall be filed on or before February 15 of 
the year following the calendar year to which such returns relate.''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--Subsection (b) of section 6071 
        of such Code is amended by striking ``subparts B and C of part 
        III of this subchapter'' and inserting ``subpart B of part III 
        of this subchapter (other than returns filed on Form 1099-MISC 
        with respect to nonemployee compensation)''.
            (3) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection 
        shall apply to returns and statements relating to calendar 
        years beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Study and Recommendations Regarding Administrative 
Implementation.--Not later than January 1, 2018, the Secretary of the 
Treasury shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate--
            (1) a recommendation of whether the due dates for filing 
        Forms W-2 and W-3 with the Internal Revenue Service and the 
        Social Security Administration should be further accelerated in 
        order to prevent tax refund fraud,
            (2) recommendations for processes--
                    (A) to match the information reported on Forms W-2 
                and Forms 1099-MISC for the effective processing of 
                returns and accurate determination of refunds, and
                    (B) to correct errors on such documents, and
            (3) any other recommendations the Secretary may have for 
        accelerating information reporting, including the 
        identification of any other forms that should be due on an 
        accelerated schedule, in order to prevent tax refund fraud.

SEC. 3. CENTRALIZED POINT OF CONTACT FOR IDENTITY THEFT VICTIMS.

    The Secretary of the Treasury, or the Secretary's delegate, shall 
establish and maintain an office at the Internal Revenue Service and 
procedures to ensure that any taxpayer whose return has been delayed or 
otherwise adversely affected due to the theft of the taxpayer's 
identity has a centralized point of contact throughout the processing 
of his or her case. The office shall coordinate with other offices 
within the Internal Revenue Service to resolve the taxpayer's case as 
quickly as possible.

SEC. 4. TAXPAYER NOTIFICATION OF SUSPECTED IDENTITY THEFT.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 77 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 7529. NOTIFICATION OF SUSPECTED IDENTITY THEFT.

    ``If the Secretary determines that there was an unauthorized use of 
the identity of any taxpayer, the Secretary shall--
            ``(1) as soon as practicable and without jeopardizing an 
        investigation relating to tax administration, notify the 
        taxpayer, and
            ``(2) if any person is criminally charged by indictment or 
        information relating to such unauthorized use, notify such 
        taxpayer as soon as practicable of such charge.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 77 of 
such Code is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``Sec. 7529. Notification of suspected identity theft.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to determinations made after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.

SEC. 5. EXTENSION OF IRS AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE TRUNCATED SOCIAL SECURITY 
              NUMBERS ON FORM W-2.

    (a) In General.--Paragraph (2) of section 6051(a) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``his social security 
number'' and inserting ``an identifying number for the employee''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall take 
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 6. ELECTRONIC FILING OPT OUT.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of the Treasury, or the Secretary's delegate, shall 
implement a program under which a taxpayer who has filed an identity 
theft affidavit with the Secretary may elect to prevent the processing 
of any Federal tax return submitted in an electronic format by the 
taxpayer or a person purporting to be the taxpayer.

SEC. 7. CRIMINAL PENALTY FOR USING A FALSE IDENTITY IN CONNECTION WITH 
              TAX FRAUD.

    (a) In General.--Section 7206 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Any person'' and inserting the following:
    ``(a) In General.--Any person'', and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(b) Use of False Identity.--Any person who willfully 
misappropriates another person's taxpayer identity (as defined in 
section 6103(b)(6)) for the purpose of making any list, return, 
account, statement, or other document submitted to the Secretary under 
the provisions of this title shall be guilty of a felony and, upon 
conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $250,000 ($500,000 in 
the case of a corporation) or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or 
both, together with the costs of prosecution.''.
    (b) Aggravated Identity Theft.--Section 1028A(c) of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended by striking ``or'' at the end of 
paragraph (10), by striking the period at the end of paragraph (11) and 
inserting ``; or'', and by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
            ``(12) section 7206(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
        (relating to use of false identity in connection with tax 
        fraud).''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to offenses committed after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.

SEC. 8. IMPROVEMENT IN ACCESS TO INFORMATION IN THE NATIONAL DIRECTORY 
              OF NEW HIRES.

    (a) In General.--Paragraph (3) of section 453(i) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 653(i)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(3) Administration of federal tax laws relating to 
        fraud.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall have access to the 
        information in the National Directory of New Hires for the sole 
        purpose of identifying and preventing fraudulent tax return 
        filings and claims for refund under the Internal Revenue Code 
        of 1986.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall take 
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 9. REPEAL OF PROVISION REGARDING CERTAIN TAX COMPLIANCE PROCEDURES 
              AND REPORTS.

    Section 2004 of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and 
Reform Act of 1998 (26 U.S.C. 6012 note) is repealed.

SEC. 10. REPORT ON REFUND FRAUD.

    Not later than September 30, 2018, and biannually thereafter 
through September 30, 2026, the Secretary of the Treasury (or the 
Secretary's delegate) shall report to the Committee on Ways and Means 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the 
Senate on the extent and nature of fraud involving the use of a 
misappropriated taxpayer identity with respect to claims for refund 
under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 during the preceding completed 
income tax filing season, and the detection, prevention, and 
enforcement activities undertaken by the Internal Revenue Service with 
respect to such fraud, including--
            (1) detailing efforts to combat identity theft fraud, 
        including an update on the victims' assistance unit;
            (2) providing an update on Internal Revenue Service efforts 
        and results associated with limiting multiple refunds to the 
        same financial account and physical address, with appropriate 
        exceptions; and
            (3) discussing Internal Revenue Service efforts associated 
        with other avenues for addressing identity theft refund fraud.
In addition, each report shall provide an update on the implementation 
of this Act, analyze other ways to accelerate information matching, and 
identify the need for any further legislation to protect taxpayer 
resources and information, including preventing tax refund fraud 
related to the Internal Revenue Service's e-Services tools and 
electronic filing identification numbers.
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