To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to conform to the intent of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, as set forth in the joint explanatory statement of the committee of conference accompanying Conference Report 105–599, that the National Taxpayer Advocate be able to hire and consult counsel as appropriate.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The National Taxpayer Advocate Enhancement Act of 2025 clarifies the personnel authority of the National Taxpayer Advocate. It amends Internal Revenue Code section 7803(c)(2)(D)(i) to add explicit authority to appoint counsel in the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate who report directly to the National Taxpayer Advocate or the Advocate's delegate. It also updates related hiring language by replacing a reference to employees of any local taxpayer advocate office with employees of the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate. The amendments take effect as if they were included in section 1102 of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, meaning Congress is treating the counsel authority as aligned with the original taxpayer-advocate reforms.
Who Benefits and How
The Office of the Taxpayer Advocate benefits because it can hire counsel who answer directly to the Advocate rather than relying only on broader IRS legal channels. The National Taxpayer Advocate benefits from clearer statutory authority to build legal capacity for taxpayer-advocacy work. Taxpayers seeking assistance from the IRS benefit indirectly because the Advocate can receive independent legal advice on systemic problems, taxpayer rights, and case assistance. Taxpayer Advocate Service employees benefit from clarified office-wide hiring authority rather than language limited to local offices.
Who Bears the Burden and How
IRS management and the Office of Chief Counsel may bear an institutional burden because the Taxpayer Advocate gains more independent legal capacity. Treasury and IRS administrative staff must implement the personnel authority and align internal hiring practices with the retroactive statutory clarification. Federal budget staff may need to account for counsel positions within existing Taxpayer Advocate Service resources. The bill does not impose direct tax filing duties on taxpayers.
Key Provisions
- Amends section 7803 to authorize the National Taxpayer Advocate to appoint counsel in the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate.
- Requires appointed counsel to report directly to the National Taxpayer Advocate or the Advocate's delegate.
- Expands related hiring language from local taxpayer advocate offices to the entire Office of the Taxpayer Advocate.
- Provides an effective date as if the amendments were included in the 1998 IRS restructuring law.
- Clarifies Congress's intent that the Advocate may hire and consult counsel as appropriate.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to confirm that the National Taxpayer Advocate may appoint counsel in the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate reporting directly to the Advocate or delegate, broadens related hiring language from local taxpayer advocate offices to the entire Office of the Taxpayer Advocate, and makes the changes effective as if included in the 1998 IRS restructuring law.
Key Policy Areas
Tax Administration, Government Operations
Primary Purpose
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to confirm that the National Taxpayer Advocate may appoint counsel in the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate reporting directly to the Advocate or delegate, broadens related hiring language from local taxpayer advocate offices to the entire Office of the Taxpayer Advocate, and makes the changes effective as if included in the 1998 IRS restructuring law.
Policy Domains
House resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Office of the Taxpayer Advocate
- National Taxpayer Advocate
- Taxpayers seeking IRS assistance
- Taxpayer Advocate Service employees
Identified Costs
- IRS management
- Office of Chief Counsel
- Treasury administrative staff
- IRS administrative staff
- Federal budget staff
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseReceived; read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the …
Mr. Feenstra (for himself and Mr. Davis of Illinois) introduced …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
IRS management, National Taxpayer Advocate, Office of Chief Counsel
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "office"
- → Office of the Taxpayer Advocate
- "advocate"
- → National Taxpayer Advocate
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology