H.R. 5349
TAS Act
Sponsor: Nathaniel Moran
1 cosponsor
Official summary
Written by the Congressional Research Service.
Tax Court Improvement Act
This bill expands the authority of the U.S. Tax Court to issue subpoenas, authorizes the Tax Court to extend certain petition deadlines, and makes other changes related to Tax Court procedures.
The bill authorizes the Tax Court to issue subpoenas compelling the production of documents and other items from a litigant or witness for evidentiary or discovery purposes (whether or not it is in connection with a scheduled hearing). (Under current law, the Tax Court may issue subpoenas only to compel the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of evidence at a scheduled hearing or deposition.)
The bill authorizes the Tax Court to extend (or toll) the deadline to file a Tax Court petition contesting an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) deficiency notice if it is equitable to do so (known as equitable tolling). Further, under the bill, the dismissal of a petition contesting an IRS deficiency notice because the petition is not filed before the deadline and equitable tolling is denied is not treated as a decision of the Tax Court. This allows a subsequent claim to be filed in U.S. district court if certain conditions are met.
The bill also
- expands the type of Tax Court proceedings for which special trial judges may be appointed,
- authorizes Tax Court special trial judges to impose fines up to $5,000 and up to 30 days in jail for contempt of court, and
- requires Tax Court judges and special trial judges to recuse themselves in certain circumstances.
Text of the bill
I Tax Administration and Customer Service
II American Citizens Abroad
III Judicial Review
IV Office of the Taxpayer Advocate
V Tax Return Preparers
VI Appeals
Where this section came from
Not in the first version (Introduced in House, Sep 15).
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Sep 30, 2026 · Engrossed Amendment Senate S.Amdt. 6848: To amend the title. Official page › S.Amdt. 6847: In the nature of a substitute. Official page ›
(a) In general. Subsection (l) of section 6402 is amended to read as follows:
(l) Explanation of reason for refund disallowance; appeals
(1) In general. Not later than the applicable date, the Secretary shall review any claim for refund, make a determination with respect to such claim, and, in the case of a disallowance of such claim (in whole or in part), provide the taxpayer with a detailed written explanation for such disallowance, which shall—
(A) be mailed to the last known address of the taxpayer, and
(B) in the case of any taxpayer entitled to an appeal of such determination, include instructions for appealing such disallowance to the Internal Revenue Service Independent Office of Appeals.
(2) Failure to make timely determination
(A) In general. In the case of any claim for refund for which the Secretary fails to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (1) by the applicable date, for purposes of determining interest on any overpayment for any period subsequent to such date, the overpayment rate (as established under section 6621(a)(1)) shall be increased by 1 percentage point.
(B) Limitation. With respect to any claim for refund described in subparagraph (A), the amount of any increase in interest on any overpayment pursuant to such subparagraph shall not exceed $500.
(C) Adjustment for inflation
(i) In general. In the case of any claim for refund filed during any calendar year beginning after 2026, the $500 amount in subparagraph (B) shall be increased by an amount equal to—
(I) such dollar amount, multiplied by
(II) the cost-of-living adjustment determined under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar year, determined by substituting calendar year 2024 for calendar year 2016 in subparagraph (A)(ii) thereof.
(ii) Rounding. If any amount determined under clause (i) is not a multiple of $50, such amount shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of $50.
(3) Appeals
(A) In general. Any disallowance of a claim for refund may, within 30 days after the date such disallowance is mailed (or, if mailed to an address outside of the United States, 90 days), be appealed to the Internal Revenue Service Independent Office of Appeals. Notwithstanding paragraph (4) of section 6532(a), during the period in which any such appeal is pending before the Internal Revenue Service Independent Office of Appeals (and for 30 days thereafter), the 2-year period in paragraph (1) of such section for filing suit for refund after disallowance of a claim shall be suspended.
(B) Deemed disallowance. For purposes of subparagraph (A), in the case of any claim for refund for which the Secretary has failed to make a determination with respect to such claim by the date described in paragraph (5)(A), the taxpayer may elect for such claim to be deemed to have been disallowed by the Secretary as of such date.
(4) Frivolous claims
(A) In general. In the case of any frivolous claim—
(i) paragraphs (1) and (3) shall not apply, and
(ii) not later than the applicable date, written notification of the denial of such claim shall be mailed to the last known address of the taxpayer.
(B) Definition. For purposes of this paragraph, the term frivolous claim means a claim for refund which is based on—
(i) a position which the Secretary has identified as frivolous for purposes of subsection (c) of section 6702, or
(ii) a position which is substantially similar to a position described in clause (i).
(5) Applicable date. For purposes of this subsection, the term applicable date means, with respect to any claim for refund—
(A) the date which is 12 months after the date of receipt of such claim by the Secretary, or
(B) such other date as is agreed to by the Secretary and the taxpayer.
(b) Effective date. The amendment made by this section shall apply to any claim for refund received after the date which is 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act.
VII Whistleblowers
VIII Hostages
IX Small Businesses
X Miscellaneous