House passes bevy of tax-related bills

Published April 29, 2026 3:42 PM

Updated April 29, 2026 4:27 PM

1 Min Read

The House of Representatives approved a group of bipartisan tax-related bills this week through an expedited process that would make changes in Internal Revenue Service administration, customer service, taxpayer privacy, tax return processing, as well as disaster relief and tax breaks for pre-K teachers, members of the clergy and survivors of sexual assault if they are ultimately approved by the Senate.

Taxpayer Experience Improvement Act

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The Taxpayer Experience Improvement Act, introduced by Rep. David Schweikert, R-Arizona, and Don Beyer, D-Virginia, aims to modernize IRS customer service and provide taxpayers additional information about their phone calls, tax returns and refunds.

The bill, which passed on a voice vote Monday, would require the IRS to post real-time information on its website showing call volume, wait times and callback availability for major IRS phone lines. The agency would need to show how many callers are speaking with an IRS representative, how many are using an automated system and how many are waiting. It would also require the IRS to display the longest current wait time, estimated wait times and callback availability. In addition, it would require the IRS to provide monthly data on call lengths, wait times, disconnected calls, transfers, and whether callers received the service they needed. By 2028, the IRS would offer a callback option for calls that go unanswered for more than five minutes.

It would also expand online taxpayer accounts so taxpayers could view tax returns, documents, notices and letters sent by the IRS or submitted to the agency via a website or mobile application. The bill would also allow taxpayers to respond to notices and letters by uploading their response through a website or mobile app.

Taxpayer Notification and Privacy Act

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The Taxpayer Notification and Privacy Act, introduced by Rep. Greg Steube, R-Florida, and Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-California, and in the Senate by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, would expand the IRS's notice requirements for contacting a third party such as an employer or bank for information related to a taxpayer's federal tax liability and the rights of the taxpayer. Currently, the IRS has to notify a taxpayer at least 45 days in advance of a time period during which the agency intends to contact a third party, but it's not required to specify what information is being sought. The bill, which passed on a voice vote, would require the IRS to specify in a notice to the taxpayer each item of information sought from a third party when the IRS has not previously requested such information from the taxpayer, and the taxpayer can reasonably provide such information. The requirement would not apply if the IRS determines the third-party information is necessary. Under the bill, a taxpayer would be allowed no less than 45 days (or more if requested by the taxpayer and deemed reasonable) to respond before the IRS contacts a third party.

"At its core, this common-sense legislation is a simple due-process idea: Before the IRS goes to your bank, your employer, your vendor, or another third party for information about you," Steube said in a statement Tuesday. "When you can reasonably provide that information yourself, you should be told what they're looking for and given a fair chance to respond."

BARCODE Efficiency Act

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The bipartisan Barcode Automation for Revenue Collection to Organize Disbursement and Enhance (BARCODE) Efficiency Act, introduced by Rep. Rudy Yakym, R-Indiana, and Brad Schneider, D-Illinois, would require the IRS to use scanning technology to speed up paper return processing and deliver tax refunds more quickly.

The bill would require a scannable barcode on electronically prepared federal tax returns that are printed and filed in paper format with the IRS. It would also require the agency to use barcode scanning technology to convert data included on such returns into an electronic format.

The bill would requires the IRS to use optical character recognition (or similar) technology to transcribe federal tax returns and correspondence that are not prepared electronically and are received in paper format. However, under the bill, the use of barcodes, barcode scanning technology, and OCR technology would not be required if the technology is slower or less reliable than manual transcription or any other IRS process, and the IRS provides a report to Congress regarding the determination to not use such technology.

The bill was passed by the House Ways and Means Committee in January and was approved Monday by a voice vote by the House before going to the Senate.

Doug LaMalfa Federal Disaster Tax Relief Certainty Act

Firefighters use flashlights to search the perimeter of a building at the Soda Rock Vineyards during the Kincade fire in Healdsburg, California, U.S., on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019. The wildfire that erupted in Californias wine country minutes after a PG&E Corp. power line went down has prompted an expanded evacuation order, as officials warn high winds could drive the blaze toward one of the regions largest towns. Photographer: Phil Pacheco/Bloomberg

Phil Pacheco/Bloomberg

The Doug LaMalfa Federal Disaster Tax Relief Certainty Act, named after a now deceased lawmaker who introduced it and co-sponsored by Rep. Greg Steube, R-Florida, Mike Thompson, D-California, and Jimmy Panetta, D-California, would extend the federal tax deduction for qualified disaster-related personal casualty losses and the exclusion from gross income of qualified wildfire relief payments. Under current law, unreimbursed personal casualty losses arising in a qualified disaster area are deductible if such losses exceed $500 per casualty.

A "qualified disaster area" is an area with respect to which a major disaster has been declared during the period beginning in 2020 and ending 60 days after July 4, 2025, if the incident period begins on or after Dec. 28, 2019, and on or before July 4, 2025.

The bill would extend the federal tax deduction for qualified disaster-related personal casualty losses by defining a qualified disaster area as an area with respect to which a major disaster has been declared if the incident period begins on or after Dec. 28, 2019, and before Jan. 1, 2027.

The bill would provide that the exclusion from gross income of qualified wildfire relief payments applies to such payments attributable to forest or range fires declared a federal disaster after 2014 and before 2027, regardless of when such payments are received. (Currently, qualified wildfire relief payments attributable to forest or range fires declared a federal disaster after 2014 and received after 2019 and before 2026 may be excluded from gross income.)

The bill passed last month in the House Ways and Means Committee along with several of the other bills that the House passed this week. It will now go to the Senate, where it's being co-sponsored by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, and Adam Schiff, D-California.

SEED Act

The Supporting Early-Childhood Educators' Deductions (SEED) Act would expand the above-the-line $300 educator expense deduction, established for K-12 teachers in 2002, to also include pre-K and early childhood educators. This deduction would help offset the money teachers spend out of pocket each year on classroom supplies, books, and learning materials.

It was sponsored by Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-California, and co-led by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pennsylvania, Maggie Goodlander, D-New Hampshire, and David Valadao, R-California, was passed unanimously by voice vote and now heads to the Senate for consideration.

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colorado, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, have introduced companion legislation in the Senate.

Survivor Justice Tax Prevention Act

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The Survivor Justice Tax Prevention Act would amend the Internal Revenue Code to ensure survivors of sexual abuse and unwanted, illegal sexual contact do not have to pay taxes on settlement income when they prevail legally against their abuser.

Under current law, settlement income for personal physical injuries is excluded from federal taxable income, but the IRS generally requires these taxpayers to provide evidence of a visible physical injury prior to allowing tax-free treatment, which can be particularly burdensome for sexual assault victims who have not sustained a visible injury.

The bipartisan legislation was introduced by Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Pennsylvania, and Gwen Moore, D-Wisconsin.

The bill would exclude from gross income certain damages received by an individual due to any sexual act or sexual contact and establishes the applicable burden of proof in court proceedings regarding the characterization of such damages for federal tax purposes.

Under current law, amounts received as damages (other than punitive damages) from a judgment, award or settlement of a claim can be excluded from gross income and, thus, are not subject to federal income tax, if attributable to a personal physical injury or physical sickness. The IRS generally interprets "personal physical injury" to require observable bodily harm (e.g., bruising, cuts, swelling, or bleeding).

Under the bill, amounts received as damages (other than punitive damages) from a judgment, award or settlement due to any sexual act or sexual conduct, whether or not there are medical records or observable injuries of such act or contact, may be excluded from gross income.

If a judgment, award, or settlement states that damages are due to any sexual act or sexual conduct, then the IRS would have the burden of proving otherwise in court proceedings related to the tax liability associated with such damages.

Finally, the bill would require the IRS to promote public awareness of the exclusion from gross income of damages related to any sexual act or sexual contact.

IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act

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The House also passed the IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act, co-sponsored by Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pennsylvania, who chairs the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Tax, and Mike Thompson, D-California, the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee.

The bill would protect whistleblowers from being compelled to identify themselves publicly when pursuing appeals before the court, allowing them to proceed anonymously when challenging an IRS action.

In addition, the bill would encourage timely award payments to whistleblowers by imposing interest if the IRS fails to issue a preliminary award recommendation within 12 months. It would also align the tax treatment of attorney's fees for IRS whistleblowers with the standard applied under other federal whistleblower programs.

The House passed the bill Monday by a 346-10 vote after it advanced in the House Ways and Means Committee last month by a unanimous 41-0 vote. It will next go to the Senate for consideration.

NO BOSS Act

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The New Opportunities for Business Ownership and Self-Sufficiency (NO BOSS) Act, also backed by California's Jimmy Panetta, would increase the percentage of individuals who may participate in a Self-Employment Assistance program, generally expands eligibility for such programs, and modifies certain SEA program requirements.

The bill would revise Section 3306(t) of the Internal Revenue Code to expand eligibility for state-administered programs by increasing the percentage limit, according to Thomson Reuters.

Under current law, the number of individuals participating in an SEA program can't exceed 5% of the individuals receiving regular unemployment compensation benefits in the state. The bill would increase the percentage of individuals who may participate in a state SEA program to 10%, eliminate the requirement that an individual be determined likely to exhaust unemployment compensation benefits (generally expanding individual eligibility for an SEA program), and require individuals to certify (at least weekly) that they are working full-time on establishing a business and becoming self-employed.

The bill would also allow individuals to meet the requirement to participate in state-approved self-employment assistance activities if such activities either include entrepreneurial training, business counseling and technical assistance (permitted under current law); or are performed pursuant to a state-approved business plan and market feasibility study.

Clergy Act

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The Clergy Act, introduced by Rep. Vince Fong, R-California, and Mike Thompson, D-California, would establish a two-year window for certain members of the clergy and Christian Science practitioners to revoke their exemption from Social Security and Medicare taxes on ministerial earnings.

Under current law, those individuals who object to participation in public insurance programs on religious or conscientious grounds can apply to the IRS for an irrevocable exemption but don't receive Social Security or Medicare benefits in retirement unless they have qualifying credits from other employment. Under the bill, the IRS would need to develop a plan to inform members of the clergy and Christian Science practitioners of their eligibility to revoke prior exemptions.

The Clergy Act, which passed on a 350-5 vote, establishes a one-time re-enrollment window for pastors and other clergy members who previously opted out of Social Security to voluntarily opt back in.

The act would create a two-year window — covering taxable years beginning Jan. 1, 2029, and Jan. 1, 2030 — for eligible clergy members who previously opted out of Social Security to revoke their exemption and begin contributing. This legislation does not modify existing Social Security regulations. Eligible clergy would still need to meet the standard 10-year contribution requirement to earn full retired-worker benefits, receiving benefits proportional to their contributions. The bill would also require the IRS and Social Security Administration to submit a plan to Congress outlining their strategy to inform clergy members of their eligibility to re-enroll.

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