The Road Ahead for Pending Tax Administration Legislation

Earlier this year, I discussed the release of the Taxpayer Assistance and Service Act (“TAS Act”), a discussion draft of legislation that aims to resolve a number of problems and frustrations that taxpayers and practitioners currently have with the tax system. As I noted at the time, the road from a discussion draft to passage of a bill can be very long. Since then, the tax community and congressional members and staff have been highly engaged on refining and advancing the proposals. I remain optimistic, but there is still a long way to go.

How It Started and How It’s Going

In January, Senator Mike Crapo, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Senator Ron Wyden, the committee’s ranking member, jointly released a discussion draft of the TAS Act, with 68 provisions aimed at improving tax administration, about 40 of which reflect National Taxpayer Advocate recommendations.

Numerous voices in the tax community have weighed in on the draft and provided thoughtful comments, and it has been exciting to see the response and participation of so many people on these issues. Given the volume of comments the Senate Finance Committee staff has received, they are still reviewing the feedback and considering modifications to the legislative language.

In the House, the focus has been on advancing certain tax administration provisions as standalone bills. Representative Jason Smith, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Representative Richard Neal, the committee’s ranking member, have successfully pushed forward a number of key bills related to TAS Act provisions, including the following that have now passed the House:

• Disaster Related Extension of Deadlines Act, H.R. 1491
• Electronic Filing and Payment Fairness Act, H.R. 1152
• Internal Revenue Service Math and Taxpayer Help Act, H.R. 998
• National Taxpayer Advocate Enhancement Act of 2025, H.R. 997
• Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act, H.R. 517 (This bill has also passed the Senate and was signed into law on July 24, 2025.)

Clearing Traffic

Now that the reconciliation bill has been enacted, I encourage Congress to continue moving forward with the TAS Act and related bills. While tax policy often gets more headlines, tax administration in many ways has a more tangible impact on people’s lives in terms of the direct experience they have working with the IRS and complying with tax law requirements. Many of the recommendations in the TAS Act developed as solutions to concerns that taxpayers and tax professionals have raised for years to the Taxpayer Advocate Service and elsewhere. The proposals in the TAS Act are broadly popular once people learn about them and understand them – doubly so for taxpayers who have personally grappled with the problems the TAS Act provisions would fix.

To help get the word out and explain the importance of the TAS Act and related bills in plain English, I have published a series of blogs highlighting certain provisions. If you know people who are interested in these issues, share these blogs with them so they can provide input on the bills or reach out to their congressional representatives to explain their perspective and help keep momentum alive. Some of my recent blogs addressed TAS Act provisions on:

• Helping taxpayers get refunds faster
• Simplifying estimated tax payments for individuals
• Reducing processing delays for taxpayers requesting an offer in compromise
• Improving the Taxpayer Advocate Service’s access to IRS information
• Authorizing the Tax Court to issue refunds and credits in collection due process cases
• Allowing relevant evidence in judicial review of innocent spouse relief
• Eliminating unexpected traps arising from IRS disaster relief
• Notifying taxpayers at risk of economic hardship
• Allowing for voluntary withholding for independent contractors
• Treating certain electronic tax payments and submissions as timely
• Eliminating installment agreement fees for low-income taxpayers
• Taking reasonable steps toward tax return preparer oversight
• Unlocking funding restrictions on Low Income Taxpayer Clinics
• Allowing refund suits in the Tax Court

Conclusion

Special thanks are due to Senators Crapo and Wyden for the time they and their staffs have devoted to developing the TAS Act and to Representatives Smith and Neal for their work advancing legislation in the House. Appreciation is also due to all the members who have sponsored or cosponsored standalone legislation containing provisions related to those in the TAS Act. And finally, thank you to all the stakeholders and experts from the tax community who have reviewed and commented on the language to improve the discussion draft.

But the work isn’t done until these provisions become law. Passing legislation requires a group effort, not just by our elected representatives but also by members of the community. The more people push for change, the more likely any legislative proposal can get enacted. Through our joint efforts we can work to drive passage of these common-sense proposals to ensure stronger protections for taxpayers and a fairer and more transparent tax system.