BARCODE Efficiency Act

Barcode Automation for Revenue Collection to Organize Disbursement and Enhance Efficiency Act or the BARCODE Efficiency Act

This bill requires federal tax returns that are prepared electronically, but printed and filed on paper, to bear a code that when scanned converts the data in such return to an electronic format. It also requires the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to use optical character recognition technology to transcribe returns and correspondence that are not prepared electronically and are printed on paper.

The IRS may decline to use such technology if it determines that it is slower or less reliable than manual transcription.

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3660 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3660

  To require electronically prepared tax returns to include scannable 
    code when submitted on paper, and to require the use of optical 
 character recognition technology for paper documents received by the 
                       Internal Revenue Service.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 25, 2024

 Mr. Carper (for himself and Mr. Young) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require electronically prepared tax returns to include scannable 
    code when submitted on paper, and to require the use of optical 
 character recognition technology for paper documents received by the 
                       Internal Revenue Service.

    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 ``Barcode Automation for Revenue 
Collection to Organize Disbursement and Enhance Efficiency Act'' or the 
``BARCODE Efficiency Act''.

SEC. 2. REQUIRE ELECTRONICALLY PREPARED PAPER RETURNS INCLUDE SCANNABLE 
              CODE; SCANNING AND DIGITIZATION OF TAX RETURNS AND 
              CORRESPONDENCE.

    (a) Returns Prepared Electronically and Submitted on Paper.--With 
respect to any Federal tax return which is prepared electronically, but 
is printed and filed on paper--
            (1) such return shall bear a code which, when scanned, 
        converts the data included in such return to electronic format, 
        and
            (2) subject to subsection (b)(1)(B), the Internal Revenue 
        Service shall use barcode scanning technology to convert the 
        data included in such returns to electronic format.
    (b) Optical Character Recognition Software.--With respect to--
            (1) any Federal tax return which--
                    (A) is not prepared electronically and is printed 
                and filed on paper, or
                    (B) is described in subsection (a)(1) but, for any 
                reason, the data included in such return cannot be 
                accurately converted into electronic format, or
            (2) any correspondence which is received by the Internal 
        Revenue Service in a paper form,
the Internal Revenue Service shall use optical character recognition 
technology (or any functionally similar technology) to transcribe such 
return or correspondence.
    (c) Exception.--
            (1) In general.--Subsection (a)(2) or (b) shall not apply 
        to the extent that the Secretary of the Treasury or the 
        Secretary's delegate determines that the technology described 
        in such subsection is slower or less reliable than the process 
        of manually transcribing returns or correspondence received in 
        a paper form.
            (2) Report to congress.--Any exception to the application 
        of subsection (a)(2) or (b) pursuant to paragraph (1) shall not 
        take effect until after the date on which the Secretary 
        provides a report to the Committee on Ways and Means of the 
        House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the 
        Senate regarding the determination made by the Secretary under 
        such paragraph.
    (d) Effective Date.--This section shall apply to--
            (1) any individual income tax return (as defined in section 
        6011(e)(3)(C) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) received 
        after December 31, 2023, and
            (2) any other return or correspondence received after 
        December 31, 2025.
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