Federal Bill of the Month – August 2026: S. 3931 – the Taxpayer Assistance and Service (TAS) Act

Introduced by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the Taxpayer Assistance and Service (TAS) Act (S. 3931) is a critical step toward overhauling the deeply dysfunctional, unfair, and costly system for administering federal taxation run by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Key reforms include bolstered online account access to six years of tax history, expanded Tax Court jurisdiction to hear refund suits, and more safeguards regarding late filings and tax penalty assessments.

While Congress has made important strides in reforming the IRS, S. 3931 goes a long way toward reining in an increasingly unaccountable IRS. By codifying strict electronic signature requirements for penalty approvals under Internal Revenue Code § 6751(b), the legislation ensures that lower-level auditors cannot use proposed financial penalties as aggressive bargaining chips during routine audits. Requiring explicit and documented supervisory consent bolsters accountability within the agency and guarantees that tax penalties are imposed strictly on legal merits rather than used as intimidation tactics to force quick settlements.

Equally critical are the bill’s provisions expanding judicial access and fortifying statute-of-limitations protections for innocent taxpayers. By formalizing the application of equitable tolling to Tax Court deadline exceptions—aligned with Supreme Court precedent established in Boechler v. Commissioner—and expanding Tax Court pre-trial discovery powers, the TAS Act prevents taxpayers from losing their day in court due to minor procedural delays or lack of access to key evidence. Furthermore, the legislation explicitly protects taxpayers from remaining stuck in audit purgatory because of rogue or fraudulent tax preparers, shielding innocent individuals from increasing legal and accounting costs when they had no knowledge of or participation in the fraud.

Finally, the bill mandates structural transparency and modern digital access, forcing the agency to respect taxpayers’ time and rights. Re-establishing the mandatory annual Tax Complexity Report requires the Treasury Department to publicly account for the federal tax code’s immense compliance costs—currently exceeding 6.9 billion hours annually according to the National Taxpayers Union Foundation—providing Congress with the objective data needed to eliminate burdensome code friction. 

Critical additional reforms—such as requiring mandatory high-level electronic signoffs (such as division-chief level approval) before the IRS can issue a Statutory Notice of Deficiency—can make the legislation even better and restore much-needed accountability at the IRS. Even as written, though, the TAS Act delivers commonsense reforms that restore fairness and rule of law to tax administration. By enforcing strict supervisory oversight on penalty approvals, expanding Tax Court access in line with Boechler v. Commissioner, shielding innocent victims from rogue preparer fraud, and requiring regular accounting of the tax code’s enormous compliance costs, this legislation ensures that taxpayer rights are protected at every level.

For these reasons, TPA is pleased to make S. 3931 its Federal Bill of the Month for August 2026.