[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5162 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5162
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to enhance the authority of
the National Taxpayer Advocate.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 29, 2026
Mr. Lujan (for himself and Mr. Young) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to enhance the authority of
the National Taxpayer Advocate.
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 ``Strengthening Taxpayer Advocacy
Act''.
SEC. 2. NTA AUTHORIZATION TO MAKE PERSONNEL DECISIONS.
(a) In General.--Section 7803(c)(2)(D)(i)(II) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``any employee of any local
office of a taxpayer advocate described in subclause (I)'' and
inserting ``any officer or employee of the Office of the Taxpayer
Advocate''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall take
effect on the date which is 12 months after the date of enactment of
this Act.
SEC. 3. ACCESS TO INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE INFORMATION, LEGAL ADVICE,
AND MEETINGS.
(a) In General.--Section 7803(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(6) Access to information and meetings.--
``(A) In general.--Upon request, the Commissioner
shall provide the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate with
access to any of the following:
``(i) In the case of any request made by a
taxpayer for assistance by the Office of the
Taxpayer Advocate which is open and pending--
``(I) any return or return
information (as such terms are defined
in section 6103(b)) which the National
Taxpayer Advocate determines is
necessary to assist such taxpayer,
``(II) any legal advice provided by
the staff of the Office of Chief
Counsel to any employee of the Internal
Revenue Service (including any legal
advice prepared in contemplation of
litigation) which the National Taxpayer
Advocate determines is necessary to
assist such taxpayer, regardless of
whether such legal advice cannot be
disclosed to such taxpayer, and
``(III) any meeting between such
taxpayer and any employee of the
Internal Revenue Service.
``(ii) To the extent necessary to perform a
full and substantive analysis included in any
report described in paragraph (2)(B)--
``(I) any relevant document, data,
or statistical information, and
``(II) any legal advice provided by
the staff of the Office of the Chief
Counsel to any employee of the Internal
Revenue Service (including any legal
advice prepared in contemplation of
litigation).
``(iii) Legal advice from the staff of the
Office of Chief Counsel on any matter or issue.
``(B) Deadline.--Access to any information, advice,
or meeting described in subparagraph (A) shall be
provided by the Commissioner not later than--
``(i) the date which is 2 weeks after the
date on which a written request submitted by
the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate has been
received by the Commissioner, or
``(ii) such date as is otherwise agreed to
by the Commissioner and the Office of the
Taxpayer Advocate.
``(C) Meetings.--For purposes of subparagraph
(A)(i)(III), the Commissioner shall be deemed to have
satisfied the requirement under such subparagraph if
the Commissioner has extended an invitation to attend
the meeting to the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate,
without regard to whether such an invitation was
declined by any employee of the Office of the Taxpayer
Advocate.
``(D) Privilege.--Any access provided to the Office
of the Taxpayer Advocate pursuant to this paragraph
with respect to information or legal advice from the
staff of the Office of Chief Counsel shall have no
effect on any privilege which otherwise applies to such
information or legal advice.''.
(b) Annual Reports.--Section 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--
(1) in subclause (XII), by striking ``and'' at the end,
(2) in subclause (XIII), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and'', and
(3) by adding at the end the following new subclause:
``(XIV) identify any failure by the
Commissioner to provide access to any
information, advice, or meeting
described in subparagraph (A) of
paragraph (6) by the date required
under subparagraph (B) of such
paragraph.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. REPEAL OF LIMITATION PERIOD SUSPENSION FOR TAXPAYERS SEEKING
ASSISTANCE FROM TAS.
(a) In General.--Section 7811 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
is amended--
(1) by striking subsection (d), and
(2) by redesignating subsections (e) through (g) as
subsections (d) through (f), respectively.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 6306(k)(2) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``section 7811(g)'' and
inserting ``section 7811(f)''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 5. OPERATIONS TO ASSIST TAXPAYERS EXPERIENCING HARDSHIPS DURING
LAPSE IN APPROPRIATIONS.
Notwithstanding section 1341(a) of title 31, United States Code,
during any lapse in appropriations, the Commissioner and the Office of
the Taxpayer Advocate may incur obligations in advance of
appropriations for such amounts as may be necessary--
(1) to assist any taxpayer who is or may be experiencing an
economic hardship (within the meaning of section 6343(a)(1)(D)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) as a result of any action
or inaction by the Internal Revenue Service, and
(2) for the purpose of complying with any Taxpayer
Assistance Order issued pursuant to section 7811 of such Code.
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