Free File Permanence Act of 2017
This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to continue to operate the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Free File Program.
The program must work with state government agencies to enhance and expand the use of the program, while continuing to:
Treasury must work with the private sector through the program to identify and implement innovative new program features to improve and simplify the taxpayer's experience with completing and filing individual income tax returns.
The IRS and members of the tax software and electronic industry involved in the program must support and promote improvements within the program by mutually testing, piloting, and offering innovative solutions to:
The Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee must report annually to Congress regarding the program, including website statistics, cybersecurity standards, demographic information, marketing and education efforts, simplifications and innovations, and state and local participation.
[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3641 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3641
To make permanent the Internal Revenue Service Free File program.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 4, 2017
Mr. Roskam (for himself, Mr. Kind, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Mr. Franks of
Arizona, Mr. Issa, Mr. Conaway, Ms. Eshoo, Ms. Lofgren, and Mr.
Butterfield) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To make permanent the Internal Revenue Service Free File program.
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 ``Free File Permanence Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The Internal Revenue Service Free File program
(hereinafter referred to as the ``IRS Free File Program'') as
established by the IRS pursuant to public rulemaking and set
forth in the Federal Register, Vol. 67, No. 213, Monday,
November 4, 2002, pages 67247-67251, and in implementing
agreements and governing rules and requirements between the IRS
and the tax software and electronic industry between 2003 and
2015, has been successful and significant in the efforts of the
Federal Government to increase the electronic filing of
individual income tax returns of low and moderate income
taxpayers.
(2) By the end of the current tax return filing season more
than 50,000,000 Federal individual income tax returns will have
been prepared and filed electronically for free over the life
of the IRS Free File program.
(3) The IRS Free File program offers Federal individual
income tax return preparation and electronic filing services to
more than 70 percent of taxpayers, approximately 100,000,000
taxpayers at the end of the current tax filing period, with tax
software and electronic filing provided at no cost to the
taxpayers who use the service or to the Federal Government from
tax software and electronic filing companies participating in
the program.
(4) By the end of the current tax return filing season, it
is estimated that the IRS Free File program will have saved
taxpayers approximately $1,500,000,0000 and will have saved the
Federal Government about $125,000,000 in processing costs.
(5) In addition to the IRS Free File Program, the Internal
Revenue Service also provides Taxpayer Assistance Centers, Tax
Counseling for the Elderly, and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance
(VITA) programs. Each of these programs represent important
sources of taxpayer assistance and provide taxpayer services
through different modalities to serve low and moderate income
taxpayers.
SEC. 3. FREE FILE PROGRAM.
(a) The Secretary of the Treasury, or the Secretary's delegate,
shall continue to operate the IRS Free File Program as established by
the Internal Revenue Service and published in the Federal Register on
November 4, 2002 (67 Fed. Reg. 67247), including any subsequent
agreements and governing rules established pursuant thereto.
(b) The IRS Free File Program shall continue to provide free
commercial-type online individual income tax preparation and electronic
filing services to the lowest 70 percent of taxpayers by income. The
number of taxpayers eligible to receive such services each year shall
be calculated by the Internal Revenue Service annually based on prior
year aggregate taxpayer adjusted gross income data.
(c) In addition to the services described in subsection (b), and in
the same manner, the IRS Free File Program shall continue to make
available to all taxpayers (without regard to income) a basic, online
electronic fillable forms utility.
(d) The IRS Free File Program shall continue to work cooperatively
with the private sector to provide the free individual income tax
preparation and the electronic filing services described in subsections
(b) and (c).
(e) The IRS Free File Program shall work cooperatively with State
government agencies to enhance and expand the use of the program to
provide needed benefits to the taxpayer while reducing the cost of
processing returns.
(f) Nothing in this Act is intended to impact the continuity of
services provided under Taxpayer Assistance Centers, Tax Counseling for
the Elderly, and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance programs.
SEC. 4. INNOVATIONS.
(a) The Secretary of the Treasury, or the Secretary's delegate,
shall work with the private sector through the IRS Free File Program to
identify and implement, consistent with applicable law, innovative new
program features to improve and simplify the taxpayer's experience with
completing and filing individual income tax returns in voluntary
compliance.
(b) The Internal Revenue Service, and members of the tax software
and electronic industry with whom the Internal Revenue Service works
through the Free File Program, shall support and promote improvements
within the program by mutually testing, piloting, and offering
innovative solutions to--
(1) simplify taxpayer compliance with the internal revenue
laws;
(2) reduce taxpayer compliance burdens;
(3) increase individual income tax return accuracy through
financial data authentication;
(4) strengthen the tax system against existing and emerging
fraud and threats of fraud through cybersecurity collaboration;
(5) avoid duplication of effort in the tax system;
(6) simplify the tax system;
(7) maximize the use of electronic technology; and
(8) reduce information reporting burdens.
SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
Not later than June 30th of each calendar year after 2017, the
Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee, as established by 26
U.S.C. 6011 note, is required to file an annual report to the
Committees on Ways and Means, Appropriations, and Committee on Finance,
on--
(1) IRS Free File website statistics--percentage of
taxpayers who came to the site and completed a return;
(2) Free File program cybersecurity standards to protect
taxpayers from Stolen Identity Refund Fraud;
(3) demographic information on taxpayers using Free File;
(4) IRS marketing and education efforts to promote Free
File to eligible taxpayers;
(5) simplifications and innovations to improve the Free
File program for the next tax season to ensure the program
remains state-of-art; and
(6) State and local participation of IRS programs that
serve Free File eligible taxpayers.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
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