VotedBy VotedBy ⌕
Election Day · Tue, Nov 3See how your members of Congress voted →

S. 1793 · 115th Congress

Taxpayer Bill of Rights Enhancement Act of 2017

Key: what the circles and colors mean

Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:

IntroducedPassed one chamberPassed both chambersBecame law (gold)Resolution agreed to (full, dark)Failed or vetoed (gray)

Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.

Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.

Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 115th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.

1 cosponsor · 1 R

1 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to provisions affecting taxpayer rights, to:

What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Sep 12, 2017

Taxpayer Bill of Rights Enhancement Act of 2017

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to provisions affecting taxpayer rights, to:

  • increase penalties for unauthorized disclosure or inspection of taxpayer information and allow punitive damages for willful unauthorized inspection or disclosure;
  • prohibit the disclosure of taxpayer information to any contractor or other agent of a governmental entity without confidentiality safeguards;
  • increase the limit on civil damages for unauthorized collection actions by Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees and allow punitive damages for reckless or intentional actions;
  • extend to two years the time limit for contesting a tax levy or for seeking a return of wrongfully levied property;
  • waive user fees for taxpayers who agree to automated installment payments;
  • allow amounts that have been wrongfully levied from retirement accounts to be recontributed without regard to contribution limits;
  • modify the requirements and exceptions that apply to payments of estimated taxes;
  • require the disclosure of collection activities relating to a joint account upon the oral request of either spouse (currently, a written request is required); and
  • require tax-exempt organizations to file their tax returns in electronic form.

The IRS must maintain a program that provides free tax preparation and electronic filing services to low-income and elderly taxpayers.

The bill amends the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 to require at least one IRS appeals officer and one settlement officer to be located and permanently available in each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov

About this bill and sources

Official title: Taxpayer Bill of Rights Enhancement Act of 2017

Latest action (Sep 12, 2017): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S5219)

Policy area: Taxation · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Sep 12, 2017

Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)

No recorded floor vote found.