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H.R. 9499 119th Congress House

Protecting Taxpayers from Ghost Preparers Act

Official title: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to apply tax return preparation penalties to improperly altered returns, and for other purposes.

Introduced: June 29, 2026 Introduced by: Nicole Malliotakis Republican · New York See on congress.gov
Taxation Civil actions and liabilityFraud offenses and financial crimesService industriesTax administration and collection, taxpayers
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 Everywhere this bill has been 13 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Sep 16, 2026
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Sep 15, 2026 · 9:00 PM EDT
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
Sep 15, 2026 · 9:00 PM EDT
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Sep 15, 2026 · 8:50 PM EDT
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 9499.
Sep 15, 2026 · 8:50 PM EDT
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H5686-5687)
Sep 15, 2026 · 8:50 PM EDT
Mr. Smith (MO) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Sep 15, 2026 · 9:00 PM EDT
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H5686)
Sep 8, 2026
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 705.
Sep 8, 2026
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Ways and Means. H. Rept. 119-806.
Jul 1, 2026
Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by the Yeas and Nays: 40 - 0.
Jul 1, 2026
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Jun 29, 2026
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Jun 29, 2026
Introduced in House
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What's happening now September 16, 2026

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

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Protecting Taxpayers from Ghost Preparers Act

This bill limits the amount of time the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has to assess taxes related to fraudulent or false federal tax returns where there is no intent by the taxpayer to evade taxes.

As background, the IRS generally has three years from the date that a tax return is filed (statute of limitations) to assess taxes owed by the taxpayer for the tax year. However, if a false or fraudulent tax return is filed with the intent to evade tax (fraud exception), then the IRS may assess taxes at any time. In Murrin v. Commissioner the U.S. Tax Court held (and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed) that the fraud exception applies when a tax return preparer places false or fraudulent entries on a tax return without the taxpayer’s knowledge. In contrast, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims held in BASR Partnership v. Commissioner that the fraud exception only applies if the taxpayer intends to evade taxes.

The bill limits the fraud exception to cases in which the taxpayer intends to evade taxes.

 Bill text 4 versions

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 9499: Protecting Taxpayers from Ghost Preparers Act. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-9499/
MLA
"H.R. 9499: Protecting Taxpayers from Ghost Preparers Act." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-9499/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 9499, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-9499/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 9499: Protecting Taxpayers from Ghost Preparers Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-9499/)
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