H.R. 5349

TAS Act

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

Expand all

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

Sec. 604. Appeals of returned offers Added Sep 30

Where this section came from

Not in the first version (Introduced in House, Sep 15).

  1. 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 ›

Section 7122(e) is amended—

(1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:

Text this section adds to the law

(1) for an independent administrative review of—

(A) any determination that an offer-in-compromise be returned to the taxpayer because such offer-in-compromise is not accepted for processing or is otherwise determined to be nonprocessable before such determination is communicated to the taxpayer, and

(B) any rejection of a proposed offer-in-compromise or installment agreement made by a taxpayer under this section or section 6159 before such rejection is communicated to the taxpayer, and

, and

(2) in paragraph (2), by striking any rejection of such offer or agreement and inserting any determination described in paragraph (1)(A) or any rejection described in paragraph (1)(B).

VII Whistleblowers

VIII Hostages

IX Small Businesses

X Miscellaneous