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H.R. 7959 119th Congress House

IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act

Official title: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make improvements with respect to the treatment of whistleblowers, and for other purposes.

Introduced: March 17, 2026 Introduced by: Mike Kelly Republican · Pennsylvania See on congress.gov
Taxation Administrative remediesCongressional oversightDepartment of the TreasuryExecutive agency funding and structure
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Government studies and investigationsInterest, dividends, interest ratesInternal Revenue Service (IRS)Judicial review and appealsLegal fees and court costsRight of privacySpecialized courtsTax administration and collection, taxpayers
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 Everywhere this bill has been 14 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Apr 28, 2026
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Apr 27, 2026 · 7:01 PM EDT
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Apr 27, 2026 · 3:32 PM EDT
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 7959.
Apr 27, 2026 · 3:32 PM EDT
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H3104-3106)
Apr 27, 2026 · 7:01 PM EDT
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 346 - 10 (Roll no. 138). (text: CR H3104)
Apr 27, 2026 · 3:32 PM EDT
Mr. Smith (MO) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Apr 27, 2026 · 3:45 PM EDT
At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
Apr 27, 2026 · 6:30 PM EDT
Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H3117-3118)
Apr 9, 2026
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 526.
Apr 9, 2026
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Ways and Means. H. Rept. 119-606.
Mar 25, 2026
Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by the Yeas and Nays: 41 - 0.
Mar 25, 2026
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Mar 17, 2026
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Mar 17, 2026
Introduced in House
 Votes taken on this bill 1
DateChamberWhat was voted onResultYes–No
Apr 27, 2026 House · vote #138 On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended Passed 346–10 See who voted →
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What's happening now April 28, 2026

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act

This bill modifies provisions of the Internal Revenue Code relating to whistleblower awards and protections.

Specifically, the bill

  • revises the standard for review of whistleblower awards in the Tax Court to require a de novo review (rather than the current abuse of discretion review) based on the administrative record established at the time of the whistleblower award determination and any new or previously unavailable evidence,
  • allows whistleblowers anonymity in proceedings before the Tax Court (unless a societal interest in disclosing a whistleblower's identity outweighs potential harm to the whistleblower),
  • modifies the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) whistleblower report to require inclusion of a list and description of up to 10 of the top tax avoidance schemes disclosed by whistleblowers, and
  • requires payment of interest on mandatory whistleblower awards if the IRS fails to provide timely notice to a whistleblower of an award recommendation.

The bill also allows payments of the attorney fees of whistleblowers to be deducted when calculating adjusted gross income for tax purposes regardless of whether the whistleblower award was paid through the mandatory or the discretionary whistleblower award program. (Under current law, the deduction is limited to attorney fees paid in connection with mandatory awards.)

 Related & companion bills 2
  • S 3931 TAS Act
  • S 4639 IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act
 Bill text 4 versions

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
 Lobbying activity 8

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

Bodies those filers lobbied

A filing lists the bills it worked on and the parts of government it contacted in separate sections, so these are the bodies those filers named anywhere in the filing, not a per-bill breakdown.

See all 8 filings →
 Cosponsors 5
All 5 Democratic 1 Republican 4
R
Buchanan, Vern
Florida · Mar 24, 2026
 R
Miller, Carol D.
West Virginia · Mar 24, 2026
 R
Moran, Nathaniel
Texas · Mar 24, 2026
 R
Smith, Adrian
Nebraska · Mar 24, 2026
 D
Thompson, Mike
California · Mar 17, 2026
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 7959: IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-7959/
MLA
"H.R. 7959: IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-7959/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 7959, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-7959/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 7959: IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-7959/)
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