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H.R. 2556 118th Congress House

Simplify, Don’t Amplify the IRS Act

Official title: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to improve and promote transparency, efficiency and operational integrity of the Internal Revenue Service, and for other purposes.

Introduced: April 10, 2023 Introduced by: Diana Harshbarger Republican · Tennessee See on congress.gov
Taxation
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This bill died when the 118th Congress ended
It never became law before the 118th Congress (2023–2024) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Apr 10, 2023
Introduced in House
Apr 10, 2023
Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, and Oversight and Accountability, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
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 Latest action April 10, 2023

Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, and Oversight and Accountability, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Simplify, Don't Amplify the IRS Act

This bill limits Internal Revenue Service (IRS) enforcement authority and modifies certain IRS reporting requirements.

Among other provisions, the bill

  • increases the gross receipts reporting threshold for certain religious and charitable organizations from $5,000 to $50,000;
  • generally increases penalties for unauthorized disclosure of taxpayer information and for such disclosures by tax return preparers;
  • requires the IRS to establish a fellowship program to recruit private sector tax experts to create a task force to. among other things, educate IRS employees on emerging issues, perform audits, and address offshore tax evasion; and
  • sets forth provisions for reducing improper payments to taxpayers.

The bill also requires the IRS to report annually on the tax gap estimate for the most recent taxable year. The IRS must use artificial intelligence to calculate an estimate of the tax gap. The bill defines tax gap as the difference between tax liabilities owed to the United States and those liabilities actually collected.

The bill restricts funding for IRS audits and enforcement until the IRS publishes an updated tax gap projection.

 Related & companion bills 5
  • S 1101 Identical bill Simplify, Don’t Amplify the IRS Act
  • S 1051 Protect Taxpayers’ Privacy Act
  • S 1053 IRS Customer Service Improvement Act
  • S 1054 IRS Improper Payments Act
  • S 1105 Don't Weaponize the IRS Act
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 3
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 2556: Simplify, Don’t Amplify the IRS Act. 118th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-2556/
MLA
"H.R. 2556: Simplify, Don’t Amplify the IRS Act." 118th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-2556/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 2556, 118th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-2556/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 2556: Simplify, Don’t Amplify the IRS Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-2556/)
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