H.R. 7959 · 119th Congress

IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act

Introduced on Mar 17, 2026 by Mike Kelly (R-PA-16). 5 cosponsors, 1 of them from another party. Latest action (Apr 28, 2026): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Mar 17, 2026
Cosponsors
5
1 from the other party
Policy area
Taxation
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make improvements with respect to the treatment of whistleblowers, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Administrative remedies
  • Congressional oversight
  • Department of the Treasury
  • Executive agency funding and structure
  • Government studies and investigations
  • Interest, dividends, interest rates
  • Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
  • Judicial review and appeals
  • Legal fees and court costs
  • Right of privacy
  • Specialized courts
  • Tax administration and collection, taxpayers

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Introduced in House, Mar 17, 2026). Public domain.

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 through the mandatory or the discretionary whistleblower award program. (Under current law, the deduction is limited to attorney fees paid in connection with mandatory awards.)

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Mike KellyR-PA-16Sponsor

Democrats · 1

Republicans · 4

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

  1. On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended
    Apr 27, 2026· House· Passage· Passed 346–10

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Mar 17, 2026Introduced in House
  2. Mar 17, 2026Introduced in House
  3. Mar 17, 2026 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
  4. Mar 25, 2026 · HouseCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
  5. Mar 25, 2026 · HouseOrdered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by the Yeas and Nays: 41 - 0.
  6. Apr 9, 2026Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Ways and Means. H. Rept. 119-606.
  7. Apr 9, 2026 · HouseReported (Amended) by the Committee on Ways and Means. H. Rept. 119-606.
  8. Apr 9, 2026 · HousePlaced on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 526.
  9. Apr 27, 2026 · HouseMr. Smith (MO) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
  10. Apr 27, 2026 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H3104-3106)
  11. Apr 27, 2026 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 7959.
  12. Apr 27, 2026 · HouseAt the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
  13. Apr 27, 2026 · HouseConsidered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H3117-3118)
  14. Apr 27, 2026Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 346 - 10 (Roll no. 138). (text: CR H3104)House · Roll call 138
  15. Apr 27, 2026 · HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 346 - 10 (Roll no. 138). (text: CR H3104)House · Roll call 138
  16. Apr 27, 2026 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  17. Apr 28, 2026 · SenateReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Who lobbied on it

Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.

  1. Black Mountain Land Company LP2 reports
    $40K reported (all issues)
  2. National Taxpayers Union2 reports
    $60K reported (all issues)
  3. The Center for a Free Economy2 reports
    $180K reported (all issues)

Reports filed in 2026.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 5, 2026 · loaded Oct 5, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.