Sponsors (3)
The bill strengthens identification, standards, transparency, and enforcement to reduce preparer fraud and improve filing integrity, but it increases compliance costs, penalties, and enforcement exposure for preparers—likely raising fees and reducing preparer availability for some taxpayers.
Taxpayers and preparers get clearer statutory definitions and scope (e.g., defaulting amendments to the Internal Revenue Code and clarifying what counts as a 'return'), reducing legal ambiguity and enabling more consistent enforcement.
Taxpayers benefit from stronger identification, PTIN display, suspension authority, and voluntary correction windows that improve tracing of bad actors and reduce fraud and improper refund diversion.
Higher statutory penalties and enforcement tools create greater deterrence against preparer misconduct (including refund theft), improving the integrity of the tax filing system for taxpayers.
Many paid preparers face expanded classification, new per-return and increased statutory penalties, and additional registration/education costs, which will raise preparer compliance costs and likely lead to higher preparation fees for taxpayers and fewer available preparers.
Preparers face new criminal and civil exposure (e.g., willful misuse of identification numbers and expanded preparer definitions), increasing the risk of prosecution or severe discipline for mistakes or misconduct.
Suspensions, revocations, and exclusion based on prior convictions or state actions could reduce preparer availability in some areas (including rural communities), making it harder or more expensive for some taxpayers to get assistance.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Strengthens ID, oversight, and penalties for tax preparers and e-file originators, creates a criminal misuse offense, and tightens PTIN issuance and suitability rules.
Introduced November 28, 2025 by James Varni Panetta · Last progress November 28, 2025
Strengthens rules for tax return preparers and electronic return originators by expanding what counts as a covered “return,” raising and clarifying penalties, creating a new crime for willful misuse of preparer identifying numbers, and tightening how preparer tax identification numbers (PTINs) are issued and administered. The bill requires the IRS to build programs to detect invalid or missing preparer/filing numbers and to limit PTINs to individuals who meet suitability, education, and state licensing requirements, with an 18-month window before most new penalties apply.