H.R. 7959 · Passed House · Taxation

IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act

Sponsor: Mike Kelly (R-PA)

What it does

• Changes the Tax Court's standard for reviewing IRS whistleblower awards from abuse of discretion to de novo review based on the administrative record and any new or previously unavailable evidence.
• Allows whistleblowers to remain anonymous in Tax Court proceedings unless the public interest in disclosure outweighs potential harm to the whistleblower.
• Requires the IRS whistleblower report to list and describe up to 10 of the top tax avoidance schemes disclosed by whistleblowers.
• Requires interest on mandatory awards if the IRS fails to give timely notice of an award recommendation.
• Allows whistleblowers to deduct attorney fees from adjusted gross income whether the award came through the mandatory or discretionary program.

Official summary

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…

Latest action

Apr 28, 2026: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Committee: Senate Finance