# What the System Transparency and Accountability for the IRS Act Does

This bill makes two main changes to how the IRS operates and who can prepare tax returns. First, it puts a list of taxpayer rights front and center in the tax code so that IRS employees are required to know and follow them. These rights include things like the right to be informed about what the IRS is doing, the right to quality service, the right to challenge the IRS if you disagree with them, and the right to privacy and confidentiality. Essentially, the bill is saying these protections should be impossible for the IRS to ignore because they're now at the very beginning of the tax law rather than buried somewhere in the middle.

The second major part of the bill creates new rules for people who prepare tax returns for a living. Right now, almost anyone can call themselves a tax preparer with minimal requirements. This bill would require tax return preparers to pass an exam, complete continuing education courses (at least 15 hours per year), get a background check, and obtain an official identification number. The idea is to make sure people preparing your taxes actually know what they're doing. However, the bill exempts people who are already licensed professionals like CPAs, enrolled agents, and attorneys, since they already have their own rigorous requirements.

The bill also gives the IRS the power to revoke a tax preparer's identification number if they're found to be incompetent or dishonest. This creates accountability—if a tax preparer is doing a bad job or misleading clients, the IRS can shut down their ability to prepare returns. The Treasury Department would have 180 days after the bill passes to report back to Congress on how they're implementing these new preparer standards.

System Transparency and Accountability for the IRS Act

Newhouse, Dan

System Transparency and Accountability for the IRS Act This bill requires the Internal Revenue Service to ensure that its employees are familiar with basic taxpayer rights, including the right to be informed, the right to quality service, and the right to privacy and confidentiality. The bill also authorizes the Department of the Treasury to regulate tax return preparers, including by sanctioning preparers for incompetence and disreputable behavior and by establishing minimum competency standards for preparers.