119:hr:7959 — IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act

Sponsor

Introduced by

Mike Kelly

R Republican · House · PA-16 R+11

Chair · Tax (sub)

Latest action

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Action timeline

Every recorded action on this bill, newest first. Stage badges color-code the legislative path.

Apr 28, 2026

introduced Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Finance Committee

Apr 27, 2026

floor Mr. Smith (MO) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.

Apr 27, 2026

floor Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H3104-3106)

Apr 27, 2026

floor DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 7959.

Apr 27, 2026

floor At 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.

Roll-call votes

Floor votes recorded on this bill.

Roll call #138 — On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended

April 27, 2026 · Passed

346

Yea

10

Nay

73

Missed

D 183–1 (28 missed) R 162–9 (45 missed) I 1–0

view official roll-call →

Text versions

Each stage of the bill — official text published by GPO. Click any format to read on congress.gov / govinfo.

Apr 28, 2026 Referred in Senate

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Apr 27, 2026 Engrossed in House

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Apr 09, 2026 Reported in House

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Mar 17, 2026 Introduced in House

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CRS summaries

Plain-English summaries written by the Congressional Research Service — neutral, nonpartisan staff who summarize bills as they advance through stages. The authoritative description of what each version of the bill does.

00 Introduced in House Mar 17, 2026

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.)

via Congressional Research Service · published through congress.gov

Changelog

ⓘ

How a bill moves through Congress. Each stage produces a new official text. The diff between them shows what changed at that step.

`ih` / `is` — Introduced in House / Senate. First filed version.

`rfh` / `rfs` — Referred to a committee for review.

`rh` / `rs` — Reported back by the committee to the floor (often with amendments — this is where most language changes happen).

`pcs` / `pch` — Placed on Calendar for floor consideration.

`eh` / `es` — Engrossed. Passed by the originating chamber. Text is now what was actually voted on.

`rdh` / `rds` — Received by the other chamber.

`eah` / `eas` — Engrossed Amendment. The other chamber passed an amended version.

`ath` / `ats` — Agreed to. Both chambers settled on the same text.

`enr` — Enrolled. Final reconciled text, sent to the President.

`pl` — Public Law. Signed by the President. It's now law.

`pp` — Public Print. Official printing post-enactment.

Most bills die before `eh`/`es`. Going from `pcs` → `enr` is the full path through both chambers.

Line-level diff between text versions of this bill — what actually changed at each legislative stage.

+14 −11 13 unchanged

--- Referred (Senate)

+++ Engrossed (House)

@@ -1,18 +1,11 @@

[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

-[H.R. 7959 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

+[H.R. 7959 Engrossed in House (EH)]

<DOC>

+

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 7959

-

-_______________________________________________________________________

-

-IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

-

-April 28, 2026

-

-Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

@@ -154,6 +147,16 @@

Attest:

-KEVIN F. MCCUMBER,

+Clerk.

+119th CONGRESS

-Clerk.

+2d Session

+

+H. R. 7959

+

+_______________________________________________________________________

+

+AN ACT

+

+To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make improvements with

+respect to the treatment of whistleblowers, and for other purposes.

Lobbying activity

Organizations whose LDA filings reference this bill, ranked by filing count. Position not disclosed — LDA does not require lobbyists to report support / oppose / monitor. Bill-number references can be stale (lobbyists sometimes copy text year-over-year), so verify against the filing description.

THE CENTER FOR A FREE ECONOMY

TAX

1

filings · 2026 Q1

BLACK MOUNTAIN LAND COMPANY LP

GOVTAX

1

filings · 2026 Q1

NATIONAL TAXPAYERS UNION

TAX

1

filings · 2026 Q1

via Senate LDA · self-reported quarterly. Filing count = filings mentioning this bill (no position required), not money spent on it. Click a client to see all bills they've filed on.

Cosponsors (5)

Members who signed on to support this bill.