In its last planned session day before the midterm elections, the Senate unanimously passed the Taxpayer Assistance and Service (TAS) Act, a broad package that aims to strengthen taxpayer rights and improve tax administration.
The road to Senate passage
Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) formally introduced the TAS Act earlier this year, and it advanced out of committee in July 2026.
Committee leadership had released a bipartisan discussion draft in early 2025, along with a request for stakeholder feedback. The effort drew widespread support, including from the National Taxpayer Advocate and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA).
On September 30, the Senate passed the TAS Act by unanimous consent. The bill passed after the Senate TAS Act’s text was substituted into a previously passed House bill, the Tax Court Improvement Act, H.R. 5349.
Wyden called the TAS Act “the direct result of years of bipartisan work.” Crapo thanked Wyden and committee members for their work on the bill, adding that he “look[s] forward to advancing these commonsense reforms across the finish line this Congress.”
“The Senate’s passage of the TAS Act is a significant achievement for taxpayers, tax professionals and the integrity of our tax administration system,” said AICPA President and CEO Mark Koziel. “This bipartisan legislation reflects years of thoughtful work by congressional leaders to address persistent challenges that taxpayers and practitioners encounter when interacting with the IRS and to advance practical reforms that make the system more efficient, transparent and responsive.”
Key provisions
The TAS Act contains 65 bipartisan reforms, several of which the House had already taken up individually. It aims to modernize IRS customer service, enhance taxpayer rights, expand judicial remedies, and strengthen tax administration oversight.
Customer service: The bill calls for increased digitization across the IRS, including using optical character recognition to transcribe paper filings. It also would require the IRS to publish real-time call center information dashboards, expand online account portals, and formally extending the “mailbox rule” to electronic submissions and payments.
To aid low-income and distressed taxpayers, the bill waives installment agreement fees for individuals earning up to 250% of the poverty line and unlocks matching funds for Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics. It also requires written supervisory approval prior to assessing penalties.
Tax Court procedures: The TAS Act grants the Tax Court authority over refund suits of up to $2,000,000, empowers the court to issue refunds in Collection Due Process (CDP) cases, and raises the small tax case dispute threshold from $50,000 to $100,000 (indexed for inflation).
In addition, the bill clarifies that petition deadlines for deficiency notices, CDP cases, and innocent spouse relief are nonjurisdictional claims-processing rules. As a result, courts can apply equitable tolling.
Oversight: The bill grants the National Taxpayer Advocate and Independent Office of Appeals independent direct-hire authority for legal counsel. In addition, the IRS would be required to provide the Taxpayer Advocate Service timely access to internal records, legal advice, and meetings.
Return preparer standards: The bill would require background checks and continuing education requirements to receive a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) and establish strict penalties for preparer fraud and refund misappropriation. It also would introduce a real-time validation system for electronic filing numbers (EFINs).
Whistleblower protections: The bill would exempt awards from federal budget sequestration and require the IRS to pay statutory interest on delayed award determinations. In addition, proceedings in Tax Court would receive a presumption of anonymity.
Taxpayer relief and protection: The bill would postpone filing deadlines and abate penalties for Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad. It also would extend math-error abatement periods for citizens living overseas.
In addition, the bill would increase criminal fines and contractor penalties for unauthorized disclosures of confidential tax return data.
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