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H.R. 7959: IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act
119th Congress · introduced 2026-03-17 · Taxation · Latest: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
federal
Official title
IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act
Plain summary
IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act This bill modifies provisions of the Internal Revenue Code relating to whistleblower awards and protections. Specifically, the bill revises the standard for review of whistleblower awards in the Tax Court to require a de novo review (rather than the current abuse of discretion review) based on the administrative record established at the time of the whistleblower award determination and any new or previously unavailable evidence, allows whistleblowers anonymity in proceedings before the Tax Court (unless a societal interest in disclosing a whistleblower's identity outweighs potential harm to the whistleblower), modifies the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) whistleblower report to require inclusion of a list and description of up to 10 of the top tax avoidance schemes disclosed by whistleblowers, and requires payment of interest on mandatory whistleblower awards if the IRS fails to provide timely notice to a whistleblower of an award recommendation. The bill also allows payments of the attorney fees of whistleblowers to be deducted when calculating adjusted gross income for tax purposes regardless of whether the whistleblower award was paid through the mandatory or the discretionary whistleblower award program. (Under current law, the deduction is limited to attorney fees paid in connection with mandatory awards.)
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
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Official text
IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
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Officials and money
Sponsor: Rep. Kelly, Mike [R-PA-16] · 5 cosponsors
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Recorded votes
- House roll call 138 (2026): On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended, H R 7959 (2026-04-27): Passed
Words on this page, explained (1)
- Bill
- A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-119hr7959.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/119/hr>
Record fed-us-cong119-hr7959 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong119 · updated 2026-11-03 by psicol fed-bills