[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7959 Engrossed in House (EH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7959
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make improvements with
respect to the treatment of whistleblowers, 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; ETC.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``IRS Whistleblower
Program Improvement Act''.
(b) Amendment of 1986 Code.--Except as otherwise expressly
provided, whenever in this Act an amendment is expressed in terms of an
amendment to a section or other provision, the reference shall be
considered to be made to a section or other provision of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986.
(c) References to Secretary.--For purposes of this Act, the term
``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary's
delegate.
(d) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; etc.
Sec. 2. Standard and scope of review of whistleblower award
determinations.
Sec. 3. Whistleblower privacy protections.
Sec. 4. Modification of IRS whistleblower report.
Sec. 5. Interest on whistleblower awards.
Sec. 6. Correction regarding deductions for attorney's fees.
SEC. 2. STANDARD AND SCOPE OF REVIEW OF WHISTLEBLOWER AWARD
DETERMINATIONS.
(a) In General.--Paragraph (4) of section 7623(b) is amended--
(1) by striking ``appealed to'' and inserting ``reviewed
by'', and
(2) by adding at the end the following: ``Any review by the
Tax Court under the preceding sentence shall be de novo and
shall be based on the administrative record established at the
time of the original determination and any additional newly
discovered or previously unavailable evidence.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--The heading of paragraph (4) of section
7623(b) is amended by striking ``Appeal'' and inserting ``Review''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to petitions under section 7623(b)(4) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 which are pending on, or filed on or after, the date of
the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. WHISTLEBLOWER PRIVACY PROTECTIONS.
(a) In General.--Paragraph (6) of section 7623(b) is amended by
adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(D) Whistleblower anonymity before the tax
court.--Notwithstanding sections 7458 and 7461, a
whistleblower may elect to proceed anonymously before
the Tax Court for all proceedings under this section
absent a finding by the Tax Court that a societal
interest exists for disclosing the whistleblower's
identity which exceeds the potential harm disclosure
could cause to the whistleblower.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to petitions under section 7623(b)(4) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 which are pending on, or filed on or after, the date of
the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. MODIFICATION OF IRS WHISTLEBLOWER REPORT.
(a) In General.--Section 406(c) of division A of the Tax Relief and
Health Care Act of 2006 is amended by striking ``such use,'' in
paragraph (1) and inserting ``such use (which shall include a list and
descriptions of the top tax avoidance schemes, not to exceed 10,
disclosed by whistleblowers during such year),''.
(b) Effective Date.-- The amendments made by this section shall
apply to reports for fiscal years ending after the enactment of this
Act.
SEC. 5. INTEREST ON WHISTLEBLOWER AWARDS.
(a) In General.--Section 7623(b) is amended by adding at the end
the following new paragraph:
``(7) Interest.--
``(A) In general.--If the Secretary has not
provided notice to an individual described in paragraph
(1) of a preliminary award recommendation before the
applicable date, the amount of any award under this
subsection shall include interest from such date at the
overpayment rate under section 6621(a).
``(B) Exception.--No interest shall accrue under
this paragraph after the date on which the Secretary
provides notice to the individual of a preliminary
award recommendation.
``(C) Applicable date.--For purposes of this
paragraph, the applicable date is the date that is 12
months after the first date on which--
``(i) all of the proceeds resulting from
actions subject to the award recommendation
have been collected, and
``(ii) either--
``(I) the statutory period for
filing a claim or suit for refund has
expired, or
``(II) the taxpayers subject to the
actions and the Secretary have agreed
with finality to the tax or other
liabilities for the periods at issue,
and either the taxpayers have waived
the right to file a claim or suit for
refund or any claim or suit for refund
has been resolved.''.
(b) Effective Date.--
(1) In general.--The amendments made by this section shall
take effect 180 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
(2) Special rule.--If, as of the date described in
paragraph (1)--
(A) the Secretary has not provided notice to the
individual of a preliminary award recommendation as
described in paragraph (7)(A) of section 7623(b) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as added by this Act,
and
(B) the applicable date provided in paragraph
(7)(C) of such section, as so added, has passed,
the applicable date for purposes of such paragraph (7)(C) is
the date that is 12 months after the date described in
paragraph (1).
SEC. 6. CORRECTION REGARDING DEDUCTIONS FOR ATTORNEY'S FEES.
(a) In General.--Section 62(a)(21)(A)(i) is amended by striking
``7623(b)'' and inserting ``7623''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply
to taxable years ending after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives April 27, 2026.
Attest:
Clerk.
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7959
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make improvements with
respect to the treatment of whistleblowers, and for other purposes.