[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 912 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 912
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a free on-line
tax preparation and filing service and programs that allow taxpayers to
access third-party provided tax return information.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 24, 2017
Ms. Warren (for herself, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Sanders, Mr.
Franken, Mr. Udall, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Markey, Mr. Leahy, Ms.
Duckworth, and Ms. Hassan) introduced the following bill; which was
read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a free on-line
tax preparation and filing service and programs that allow taxpayers to
access third-party provided tax return information.
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 ``Tax Filing Simplification Act of
2017''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON AGREEMENTS RESTRICTING GOVERNMENT TAX
PREPARATION AND FILING SERVICES.
The Secretary of the Treasury, or the Secretary's delegate, may not
enter into any agreement after the date of the enactment of this Act
which restricts the Secretary's legal right to provide tax return
preparation services or software or to provide tax return filing
services.
SEC. 3. GOVERNMENT-ASSISTED TAX PREPARATION AND FILING SERVICES.
(a) In General.--Chapter 77 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 7529. GOVERNMENT-ASSISTED TAX-RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAMS.
``(a) Establishment of Programs.--The Secretary shall establish and
operate the following programs:
``(1) Online tax preparation and filing software.--Not
later than January 31, 2019, software for the preparation and
filing of individual income tax returns for taxable years
beginning after 2017.
``(2) Taxpayer data access.--Not later than March 1, 2019,
a program under which taxpayers may download third-party
provided return information relating to individual income tax
returns for taxable years beginning after 2017.
``(3) Tax return preparation.--Not later than March 1,
2019, a program under which eligible individuals (as defined
under subsection (c)(1)) may elect to have income tax returns
for taxable years beginning after 2017 prepared by the
Secretary.
``(b) Requirements for Taxpayer Data Access Program.--
``(1) In general.--Return information under the program
established under subsection (a)(2) shall be made available--
``(A) not later than 15 days after the Secretary
receives such information, and
``(B) through a secure function that allows a
taxpayer to download such information from the
Secretary's website in both a printable document file
and in a computer-readable form suitable for use by
automated tax preparation software.
``(2) Third-party provided return information defined.--For
purposes of this section, the term `third-party provided return
information' means--
``(A) information reported to the Secretary through
an information return (as defined in section
6724(d)(1)),
``(B) information reported to the Secretary
pursuant to section 232 of the Social Security Act, and
``(C) such other information reported to the
Secretary as is determined appropriate by the Secretary
for purposes of the program established under
subsection (a)(2).
``(c) Tax Return Preparation.--
``(1) Eligible individual.--For purposes of the program
established under subsection (a)(3)--
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in
subparagraphs (B) and (C), the term `eligible
individual' means, with respect to any taxable year,
any individual who--
``(i) elects to participate in the program
established under subsection (a)(3),
``(ii) is an unmarried individual (other
than a surviving spouse (as defined in section
2(a)) or the head of a household (as defined in
section 2(b))),
``(iii) does not claim any deduction
allowed under section 62 for purposes of
determining adjusted gross income,
``(iv) claims the standard deduction under
section 63,
``(v) claims no deduction under section 151
for any individual who is a dependent (as
defined in section 152),
``(vi) does not file schedule C, and
``(vii) has no income other than income
from--
``(I) wages (as defined in section
3401),
``(II) interest, or
``(III) dividends.
``(B) Limitation on eligibility for tax year
2018.--With respect to any taxable year beginning in
2018, the term `eligible individual' shall only include
such populations of individuals described in
subparagraph (A) as is determined by the Secretary.
``(C) Expansion of eligibility after tax year
2018.--
``(i) In general.--At the discretion of the
Secretary, with respect to any taxable year
beginning after December 31, 2018, the term
`eligible individual' may include populations
of individuals who would not otherwise satisfy
the requirements established under subparagraph
(A), such as married individuals, heads of
households, taxpayers who are eligible to claim
the earned income tax credit under section 32
and have dependents, taxpayers who are eligible
to claim the child tax credit under section 24,
taxpayers who claim deductions allowed under
section 62 for purposes of determining adjusted
gross income, and taxpayers with income from
non-employee compensation.
``(ii) Report.--Not later than August 31,
2020, the Secretary shall submit a report to
Congress that contains recommendations for such
legislative or administrative actions as the
Secretary determines necessary with respect to
expanding the populations of individuals that
may qualify as eligible individuals for
purposes of the program established under
subsection (a)(3).
``(2) Return must be filed by individual.--No return
prepared under the program established under subsection (a)(3)
shall be treated as filed before the date such return is
submitted by the taxpayer as provided under the rules of
section 6011.
``(d) Verification of Identity.--An individual shall not
participate in any program described in subsection (a) or access any
information under such a program unless such individual has verified
their identity to the satisfaction of the Secretary.
``(e) Taxpayer Responsibility.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to absolve the taxpayer from full responsibility for the
accuracy or completeness of his return of tax.
``(f) Prohibition on Fees.--No fee may be imposed on any taxpayer
who participates in any program established under subsection (a).
``(g) Information Provided for Wage and Self-Employment Income.--
For purposes of subsection (a)(2), in the case of information relating
to wages paid for any calendar year after 2017 required to be provided
to the Commissioner of Social Security under section 205(c)(2)(A) of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(A)), the Commissioner
shall make such information available to the Secretary not later than
the February 15 of the calendar year following the calendar year to
which such wages and self-employment income relate.''.
(b) Filing Deadline for Information Returns.--Section 6071(b) of
such Code is amended to read as follows:
``(b) Information Returns.--Returns made under part III of this
chapter shall be filed on or before January 31 of the year following
the calendar year to which such returns relate. Section 6081 shall not
apply to returns under such part III.''.
(c) Conforming Amendment to Social Security Act.--Section
205(c)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(A)) is
amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: ``For purposes
of the preceding sentence, the Commissioner shall require that
information relating to wages paid be provided to the Secretary of the
Treasury not later than February 15 of the year following the calendar
year to which such wages and self-employment income relate.''.
(d) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 77 of
such Code is amended by adding at the end the following new item:
``Sec. 7529. Government-assisted tax-return preparation programs.''.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out the amendments made by this section such sums
as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022.
(f) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to returns for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017.
<all>