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
VII Whistleblowers
VIII Hostages
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. Section 7511, as added by section 801 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
(f) Refund and abatement of penalties and fines paid by eligible individuals
(1) In general
(A) Establishment. Not later than January 1, 2027, the Secretary (in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Attorney General) shall establish a program to allow any eligible individual (or the spouse or any dependent (as defined in section 152) of such individual) to apply for a refund or an abatement of any amount described in paragraph (2) (including interest) to the extent such amount was attributable to the applicable period.
(B) Identification of individuals. Not later than January 1, 2027, the Secretary of State and the Attorney General, acting through the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell (as described in section 304 of the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741b)), shall—
(i) compile a list, based on such information as is available, of individuals who were applicable individuals during the applicable period, and
(ii) provide the list described in clause (i) to the Secretary.
(C) Notice. For purposes of carrying out the program described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary (in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Attorney General) shall, with respect to any individual identified under subparagraph (B), provide notice to such individual— that such individual may be eligible for a refund or an abatement of any amount described in paragraph (2) pursuant to the program described in subparagraph (A).
(i) in the case of an individual who has been released on or before the date of enactment of this subsection, not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, or
(ii) in the case of an individual who is released after the date of enactment of this subsection, not later than 90 days after the date on which such individual is released,
(D) Authorization
(i) In general. Subject to clause (ii), in the case of any refund described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall issue such refund to the eligible individual in the same manner as any refund of an overpayment of tax under section 6402.
(ii) Extension of limitation on time for refund. With respect to any refund under subparagraph (A)—
(I) the 3-year period of limitation prescribed by section 6511(a) shall be extended until the end of the 1-year period beginning on the date that the notice described in subparagraph (C) is provided to the eligible individual, and
(II) any limitation under section 6511(b)(2) shall not apply.
(2) Eligible individual. For purposes of this subsection, the term eligible individual means any applicable individual who, for any taxable year ending during the applicable period, paid or incurred any interest, penalty, additional amount, or addition to the tax in respect to any tax liability for such year of such individual based on a determination that an act described in section 7508(a)(1) which was not performed by the time prescribed therefor (without regard to any extensions).
(3) Applicable period. For purposes of this subsection, the term applicable period means the period—
(A) beginning on January 1, 2021, and
(B) ending on the date of enactment of this subsection.
(b) Effective date. The amendment made by this section shall apply to taxable years ending on or before the date of enactment of this Act.
IX Small Businesses
X Miscellaneous