S. 1704 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the Senate, May 8, 2025
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryGives taxpayer advocate more control over legal staff
The National Taxpayer Advocate is a position within the IRS that helps everyday taxpayers resolve problems with the agency. Right now, lawyers who advise the Taxpayer Advocate Service have to report to the Treasury Department's main legal office. This bill would let the National Taxpayer Advocate hire and oversee their own legal counsel directly, and would expand their authority to make personnel decisions for all employees in their office, not just state-level advocates.
How it affects you
If you've had a dispute with the IRS and turned to the Taxpayer Advocate Service for help, this could change how quickly and independently they can assist you. By letting the Taxpayer Advocate control their own legal team, the bill aims to give this office more freedom to advocate on behalf of taxpayers without going through other layers of approval within Treasury.
Read the official summary (Introduced in Senate, May 8, 2025)
National Taxpayer Advocate Enhancement Act of 2025
This bill authorizes the National Taxpayer Advocate to appoint legal counsel within the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) to report directly to the National Taxpayer Advocate. The bill also expands the authority of the National Taxpayer Advocate to take personnel actions with respect to local taxpayer advocates (located in each state) to include actions with respect to any employee of TAS.
Currently, pursuant to a Department of the Treasury order, all legal counsel whose duties include providing legal advice to any official in any office or bureau of Treasury are part of the Legal Division within Treasury and under the supervision of the General Counsel, with limited exceptions. TAS assists taxpayers in matters involving the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and is part of the IRS, within Treasury.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionS. 1704
A BILL
National Taxpayer Advocate Enhancement Act of 2025
Sponsor: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) · Introduced May 8, 2025 · Taxation · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action May 8, 2025: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.”