Short title; etc

(a) Short title This Act may be cited as the Tax Court Improvement Act. (b) Amendment of 1986 code Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amendment is expressed in terms of an amendment to a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or other provision of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. (c) Table of contents The table of contents of this Act is as follows: Sec. 1. Short title; etc. Sec. 2. Authorization of subpoenas before hearings to facilitate settlements. Sec. 3. Authorization of special trial judges to hear additional cases and address contempt. Sec. 4. Disqualification of judges and special trial judges. Sec. 5. Clarification of Tax Court jurisdiction to apply equitable tolling in deficiency cases.

(a) Short title This Act may be cited as the Taxpayer Assistance and Service Act or the TAS Act. (b) Amendment of 1986 code Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amendment is expressed in terms of an amendment to a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or other provision of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. (c) References to Secretary For purposes of this Act, the term Secretary means the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary's delegate. (d) Table of contents The table of contents of this Act is as follows: Sec. 1. Short title; etc. TITLE I—Tax Administration and Customer Service Sec. 101. Digitization of tax returns and correspondence. Sec. 102. Establishment of dashboard to inform taxpayers of backlogs and wait times. Sec. 103. Expansion of electronic access to information about returns and refunds. Sec. 104. Expansion of callback technology. Sec. 105. Expansion of online accounts. Sec. 106. Automation of refund offset bypass. Sec. 107. Installment agreement fees eliminated for certain individuals. Sec. 108. Individuals facing economic hardships informed of collection alternatives. Sec. 109. Quarterly notices to certain taxpayers with delinquencies. Sec. 110. Low-income taxpayer clinic funding unlocked. Sec. 111. Chief Counsel reviews of offers-in-compromise streamlined. Sec. 112. Modification of procedural requirements for penalties and disallowance periods. Sec. 113. Return of amounts collected by IRS in excess of accepted offer-in-compromise amount. Sec. 114. Extension of period for return of amounts subject to wrongful levy. Sec. 115. Reports to Congress. TITLE II—American Citizens Abroad Sec. 201. Report on combined tax and foreign bank and financial account reporting. Sec. 202. Study and reports on simplification. Sec. 203. Extension of time for persons outside of the United States to request abatement of math error. Sec. 204. Clarification of assessment authority; pre-assessment appeals of foreign information return penalties. Sec. 205. Repeal of due date requirements for certain information returns relating to foreign gifts and trusts. TITLE III—Judicial Review Sec. 301. Authorization of subpoenas before hearings to facilitate settlements. Sec. 302. Clarification of Tax Court authority to order relief from a judgment or order. Sec. 303. Authorization of special trial judges to hear additional cases and address contempt. Sec. 304. Disqualification of judges and special trial judges. Sec. 305. Notice and review with respect to multi-year bans on claiming credits. Sec. 306. Authorization of de novo review of innocent spouse relief by the Tax Court and other courts. Sec. 307. Clarification of certain court filing deadlines. Sec. 308. Clarification of Tax Court jurisdiction to determine tax liability in collection due process appeals. Sec. 309. Authorization of the Tax Court to issue refunds in collection due process cases. Sec. 310. Authorization of the Tax Court to hear suits for refunds or credits. Sec. 311. Authorization to allow claims for refund in certain cases where full tax not paid. Sec. 312. Adjustment of threshold for small disputes. TITLE IV—Office of the Taxpayer Advocate Sec. 401. NTA authorization to direct hire attorneys. Sec. 402. NTA authorization to make personnel decisions. Sec. 403. Access to Internal Revenue Service information, legal advice, and meetings. Sec. 404. Repeal of limitation period suspension for taxpayers seeking assistance from TAS. Sec. 405. Operations to assist taxpayers experiencing hardships during lapse in appropriations. TITLE V—Tax Return Preparers Sec. 501. Penalties for tax return preparers who improperly alter returns. Sec. 502. Ensuring the use of valid preparer identification numbers and electronic filing identification numbers. Sec. 503. Penalties for improper tax preparation or misappropriation of refunds. Sec. 504. Authority to deny, revoke, or suspend preparer tax identification numbers. TITLE VI—Appeals Sec. 601. Authorization for Office of Appeals to hire attorneys. Sec. 602. Authorization for Office of Appeals to direct hire certain individuals. Sec. 603. Responses to claims for refund required; appeal of claims for refund authorized. Sec. 604. Appeals of returned offers. Sec. 605. Purposes and duties of Independent Office of Appeals; right of appeal clarified. TITLE VII—Whistleblowers Sec. 701. Standard and scope of review of whistleblower award determinations. Sec. 702. Exemption from sequestration. Sec. 703. Whistleblower privacy protections. Sec. 704. Modification of IRS whistleblower report. Sec. 705. Interest on whistleblower awards. Sec. 706. Correction regarding deductions for attorney's fees. TITLE VIII—Hostages Sec. 801. Postponement of tax deadlines for hostages and individuals wrongfully detained abroad. Sec. 802. Refund and abatement of penalties and fines paid by eligible individuals. TITLE IX—Small Businesses Sec. 901. Implementation of voluntary withholding agreements for payments to independent contractors. Sec. 902. Extension of mailbox rule to electronic submissions and payments. Sec. 903. Specificity of third-party contact notices. Sec. 904. Modification of estimated tax rules for farmers and fishermen. Sec. 905. Business child care liaison. TITLE X—Miscellaneous Sec. 1001. Authority for redisclosure of certain tax information related to education loans to the Congressional Budget Office. Sec. 1002. Authorization to require large partnerships to file on magnetic media. Sec. 1003. Limitation period not extended for victims of preparer fraud. Sec. 1004. Technical amendment related to the Disaster Related Extension of Deadlines Act. Sec. 1005. Time for filing certain information returns. Sec. 1006. Modifications to penalties for unauthorized disclosures of taxpayer information.