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April 27, 2026
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Download official House Record PDFReturn to issue contextMr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7959) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make improvements with respect to the treatment of whistleblowers, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 7959
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; ETC.
(a) Short Title.—This Act may be cited as the “IRS
Whistleblower Program Improvement Act”.
(b) Amendment of 1986 Code.—Except as otherwise expressly
provided, whenever in this Act an amendment is expressed in
terms of an amendment to a section or other provision, the
reference shall be considered to be made to a section or
other provision of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(c) References to Secretary.—For purposes of this Act, the
term “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Treasury or the
Secretary's delegate.
(d) Table of Contents.—The table of contents of this Act
is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; etc. Sec. 2. Standard and scope of review of whistleblower award
SEC. 2. STANDARD AND SCOPE OF REVIEW OF WHISTLEBLOWER AWARD
DETERMINATIONS.
(a) In General.—Paragraph (4) of section 7623(b) is
amended—
(1) by striking “appealed to” and inserting “reviewed
by”, and
(2) by adding at the end the following: “Any review by the
Tax Court under the preceding sentence shall be de novo and
shall be based on the administrative record established at
the time of the original determination and any additional
newly discovered or previously unavailable evidence.”.
(b) Conforming Amendment.—The heading of paragraph (4) of
section 7623(b) is amended by striking “Appeal” and
inserting “Review”.
(c) Effective Date.—The amendments made by this section
shall apply to petitions under section 7623(b)(4) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 which are pending on, or filed
on or after, the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. WHISTLEBLOWER PRIVACY PROTECTIONS.
(a) In General.—Paragraph (6) of section 7623(b) is
amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
“(D) Whistleblower anonymity before the tax court.—
Notwithstanding sections 7458 and 7461, a whistleblower may
elect to proceed anonymously before the Tax Court for all
proceedings under this section absent a finding by the Tax
Court that a societal interest exists for disclosing the
whistleblower's identity which exceeds the potential harm
disclosure could cause to the whistleblower.”.
(b) Effective Date.—The amendments made by this section
shall apply to petitions under section 7623(b)(4) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 which are pending on, or filed
on or after, the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. MODIFICATION OF IRS WHISTLEBLOWER REPORT.
(a) In General.—Section 406(c) of division A of the Tax
Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 is amended by striking
“such use,” in paragraph (1) and inserting “such use
(which shall include a list and descriptions of the top tax
avoidance schemes, not to exceed 10, disclosed by
whistleblowers during such year),”.
(b) Effective Date.— The amendments made by this section
shall apply to reports for fiscal years ending after the
enactment of this Act.
SEC. 5. INTEREST ON WHISTLEBLOWER AWARDS.
(a) In General.—Section 7623(b) is amended by adding at
the end the following new paragraph:
“(7) Interest.—
“(A) In general.—If the Secretary has not provided notice
to an individual described in paragraph (1) of a preliminary
award recommendation before the applicable date, the amount
of any award under this subsection shall include interest
from such date at the overpayment rate under section 6621(a).
“(B) Exception.—No interest shall accrue under this
paragraph after the date on which the Secretary provides
notice to the individual of a preliminary award
recommendation.
“(C) Applicable date.—For purposes of this paragraph, the
applicable date is the date that is 12 months after the first
date on which—
“(i) all of the proceeds resulting from actions subject to
the award recommendation have been collected, and
“(ii) either—
“(I) the statutory period for filing a claim or suit for
refund has expired, or
“(II) the taxpayers subject to the actions and the
Secretary have agreed with finality to the tax or other
liabilities for the periods at issue, and either the
taxpayers have waived the right to file a claim or suit for
refund or any claim or suit for refund has been resolved.”.
(b) Effective Date.—
(1) In general.—The amendments made by this section shall
take effect 180 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
(2) Special rule.—If, as of the date described in
paragraph (1)—
(A) the Secretary has not provided notice to the individual
of a preliminary award recommendation as described in
paragraph (7)(A) of section 7623(b) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as added by this Act, and
(B) the applicable date provided in paragraph (7)(C) of
such section, as so added, has passed,
the applicable date for purposes of such paragraph (7)(C) is
the date that is 12 months after the date described in
paragraph (1).
SEC. 6. CORRECTION REGARDING DEDUCTIONS FOR ATTORNEY'S FEES.
(a) In General.—Section 62(a)(21)(A)(i) is amended by
striking “7623(b)” and inserting “7623”.
(b) Effective Date.—The amendment made by this section
shall apply to taxable years ending after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.
general leave
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Missouri?
There was no objection.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7959, the IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by the Ways and Means Tax Subcommittee chairman, Mr. Mike Kelly, and the subcommittee's ranking member, Mr. Mike Thompson.
report bad actors who are committing tax fraud, tax evasion, and other similar crimes they witness occurring in the private sector.
that is crucial to combat the epidemic of fraud and stop bad actors from stealing hard-earned dollars from American taxpayers. Since 2007, this program has led to the collection of over $7 billion in unpaid taxes.
combating fraud across various government programs, Ways and Means Tax Subcommittee Chairman Kelly is building on his longstanding commitment to reform and improve the IRS Whistleblower Program to better protect whistleblowers and appropriately reward them for their contributions to combating fraud.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bipartisan legislation and thank my colleague Mike Kelly for working with me on this effort. Our bill is a good one.
Mr. Speaker, let's be honest about where we are right now. We ask Americans to comply with one of the most complex tax systems in the world. We expect them to report accurately, pay what they owe, and follow the rules to the letter. The vast majority of Americans do exactly that, but we also know that there are individuals and entities who exploit that complexity to cheat the system. They hide income, manipulate structures, and take advantage of gaps that ordinary taxpayers would never even know exist. Too often, they get away with it.
strain. Between staffing losses and reduced enforcement capacity, the reality is that the system is not catching everything that it should.
whistleblowers to help fill that gap. These are the people on the inside. They are the people who see the fraud firsthand and are willing to step forward and take a risk to do the right thing. If that is the system we are operating under, then it has to be a system that actually works, and right now, it doesn't.
Whistleblowers face uncertainty. They face long delays and, in some cases, face real personal and professional risks just for coming forward. That is not how you encourage people to expose wrongdoing. That is how you discourage it.
This bill makes targeted improvements to fix those problems. First, it protects whistleblower privacy. If someone is exposing tax fraud, they should not have to fear retaliation or public exposure just to be heard.
Second, it strengthens fairness in the process. It ensures that whistleblowers receive meaningful, independent review of their claims, not just a rubberstamp of prior decisions.
Third, it addresses delays head-on. When the government takes too long to act, whistleblowers should not be the ones paying the price. Providing interest on delayed awards is not a bonus. It is basic fairness.
enforced because when tax cheats get away with it, everyone else pays more or gets less. When whistleblowers are ignored, discouraged, or exposed, fewer people will come forward the next time. That is how you undermine confidence in the entire system.
If we want a tax system that is fair, enforcement has to be credible. If enforcement depends, in part, on whistleblowers, then we need to treat them like they matter. This bill does exactly that.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Kelly for his good work and urge a “yes” vote.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly), the sponsor of this legislation and our Ways and Means Tax Subcommittee chairman, who has fought for some time to make these reforms to improve efforts to combat fraud.
Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of the IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and counterpart on tax policy, Mr. Thompson. We worked very closely on this. We have a genuine concern that we get this right, so the American people understand that we are not overlooking what is taking place.
Mr. Speaker, I also thank our committee chairman for his recognition of the important role whistleblowers play at the IRS and his support for getting the bill before the House today.
when Americans trust that the system is fair and enforced evenly. When bad actors cheat and get away with it, that trust erodes for everyone else who plays by the rules.
program that delivers results for our taxpayers. Since 2007, the program has recovered more than $7.37 billion in unpaid taxes, narrowing the tax gap and holding bad actors accountable.
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been lost. In many cases, these are complex, high-dollar schemes that would not have been identified without insider information, proving that whistleblowers play an essential role in upholding the integrity of our tax code.
fraudsters, they help to ensure our volunteer tax system remains fair for all Americans.
alone. The IRS Whistleblower Program leverages insider knowledge to identify noncompliance that would otherwise have gone undetected.
high-value cases, improving efficiency and accountability across the system. This program directs those resources toward the highest-value, highest-probability cases, maximizing the impact and improving efficiency. It allows the IRS to focus on those who are actively evading taxes, rather than casting a wide net over the vast majority of Americans who are trying to comply with the law.
return on an investment and recovering more unpaid taxes without expanding broad-based enforcement. Just as important, the program serves as a powerful deterrent, discouraging sophisticated tax evasion before it happens by increasing the likelihood that it would be exposed.
Mr. Speaker, this bill reinforces the program's foundation with targeted, practical updates by ensuring that the U.S. Tax Court can consider all relevant evidence by providing a more favorable standard of review in whistleblower appeals, establishing a presumption of anonymity for whistleblowers to help protect individuals from retaliation, encouraging timely administration from the IRS by requiring the payment of interest on delayed awards, strengthening transparency and oversight by improving reporting to Congress and allowing administrative review of award determinations, and aligning the tax treatment of attorneys' fees for whistleblowers with other whistleblower programs.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the Ways and Means Committee staff on both sides of the aisle for working so hard on this because they did a great job, not just for Mr. Thompson and myself but for all of the taxpayers. The American taxpayers deserve this oversight, and I am glad we are working on it. Mr. Thompson did a great job.
unanimous support, reflecting broad agreement on the need to strengthen this program. Ensuring a fair shake for all taxpayers is what it comes down to.
Taxpayers
who have spoken out in support of this bill. A strong whistleblower program is essential to a credible tax system, one that rewards honesty, deters misconduct, and holds bad actors accountable.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Smith, Mr. Kelly, and Ranking Member Neal for the good work that was done. I concur with Mr. Kelly that staff on both sides have done, as always, a fantastic job.
Mr. Speaker, this bill comes down to fairness and enforcement. When people cheat the tax system and get away with it, honest taxpayers are the ones who pay the price. If we expect whistleblowers to help close the gap, we need to protect them, treat them fairly, and ensure that the system works.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, whistleblowers play a critical role in government oversight, whether it be uncovering bad actors within government or, in the case of the IRS Whistleblower Program, alerting the IRS to those in the private sector who are defrauding American taxpayers.
have made combating fraud a key priority, and I welcome this opportunity to strengthen and impose a key tool in that effort.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 7959, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed.