# 119-hr-7959: IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act

119-hr-7959, IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Kelly, Mike [R-PA-16] (R-PA); status passed_house; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7959
- As of: 2026-11-01
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-7959
- Congress: 119
- Title: IRS Whistleblower Program Improvement Act
- Status: passed_house
- Introduced: 2026-03-17
- Sponsor: Rep. Kelly, Mike [R-PA-16] (R-PA)
- Cosponsors: 5
- Policy area: Taxation
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-11-01

## Summary

**Strengthens whistleblower privacy and clarifies how IRS whistleblower awards are reviewed and paid.** The law tightens anonymity rules, sets a clearer court review standard, and creates rules for interest when award decisions take a long time. - Whistleblowers and claimants: Whistleblowers can stay anonymous in Tax Court unless the court finds a strong societal reason to disclose identity. Awards may earn interest for delayed preliminary notices at the IRS overpayment rate. The interest rule takes effect 180 days after enactment and uses a 12‑month timing test tied to collection and final resolution. - Tax Court and claim process: Tax Court review of award determinations is de novo. Judges consider the original administrative record plus any newly discovered or previously unavailable evidence. This applies to petitions pending or filed on or after enactment. - IRS reporting and attorneys: The IRS annual whistleblower report must list and describe up to 10 top tax avoidance schemes reported that year. The law also clarifies that attorney fees tied to whistleblower claims are deductible under the whistleblower code reference for taxable years ending after enactment.

## Cosponsors (5)

- Rep. Thompson, Mike [D-CA-4] (D-CA), 2026-03-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Miller, Carol D. [R-WV-1] (R-WV), 2026-03-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Buchanan, Vern [R-FL-16] (R-FL), 2026-03-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moran, Nathaniel [R-TX-1] (R-TX), 2026-03-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Smith, Adrian [R-NE-3] (R-NE), 2026-03-24T00:00:00.000Z

## Votes

| Date | Chamber | Question | Result | Yea | Nay |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-27T00:00:00.000Z | house | On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended | Passed | 346 | 10 |

## Provisions PRIA read

- Interest on delayed tax whistleblower awards: benefit, medium. The bill would add interest to covered IRS whistleblower awards when the IRS misses the preliminary award notice deadline. That deadline would generally fall 12 months after all related proceeds are collected and refund rights are settled. Refund rights would be settled when the refund-filing perio…
- Stronger court protections for tax whistleblowers: benefit, medium. The bill would require the Tax Court to review covered whistleblower award decisions anew. Review would use the original agency record plus newly discovered or previously unavailable evidence. Whistleblowers would be allowed to stay anonymous unless the court finds public interest in disclosure out…
- Broader legal fee deduction for whistleblowers: benefit, medium. The bill would extend the attorney fee deduction to more types of IRS whistleblower awards. The deduction would cover fees tied to awards under the full whistleblower section, not just its mandatory award program. Eligible whistleblowers would subtract covered fees when figuring adjusted gross inco…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-137: TCJA Permanency Act
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act
- 119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act
- 119-hr-33: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide special rules for the taxation of certain residents of Taiwan with income from sources within the United…
- 119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
- 119-hr-2891: IRA Charitable Rollover Facilitation and Enhancement Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-7959 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7959)

## Related
- [119-hr-137: TCJA Permanency Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-137)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-842)
- [119-hr-33: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide special rules for the tax…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-33)
- [119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9237)
- [119-hr-2891: IRA Charitable Rollover Facilitation and Enhancement Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2891)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7959 (as of 2026-11-01).