26 U.S.C. § 7805 — Rules and regulations

Page 4066 TITLE 26—INTERNAL REVENUE CODE § 7805 The Internal Revenue Service must issue a report on the extent of the tax gap and the measures that could be undertaken to decrease the tax gap. The report must utilize more current data than has been utilized re- cently. The report must be issued by April 15, 1989. The Internal Revenue Service must also report annually on the improvements being made in the audit rate, tax- payer assistance, and enforcement efforts.’’ TAX COUNSELING FOR THE ELDERLY Pub. L. 95–600, title I, § 163, Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2810, as amended by Pub. L. 99–514, § 2, Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2095, provided that: ‘‘(a) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— ‘‘(1) AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary, through the In- ternal Revenue Service, is authorized to enter into agreements with private or public nonprofit agencies or organizations for the purpose of providing training and technical assistance to prepare volunteers to pro- vide tax counseling assistance for elderly individuals in the preparation of their Federal income tax re- turns. ‘‘(2) OTHER ASSISTANCE.—In addition to any other forms of technical assistance provided under this sec- tion, the Secretary may provide— ‘‘(A) preferential access to Internal Revenue Service taxpayer service representatives for the purpose of making available technical information needed during the course of the volunteers’ work; ‘‘(B) material to be used in making elderly per- sons aware of the availability of assistance under volunteer taxpayer assistance programs under this section; and ‘‘(C) technical materials and publications to be used by such volunteers. ‘‘(b) POWERS OF THE SECRETARY.—In carrying out his responsibilities under this section, the Secretary is au- thorized— ‘‘(1) to provide assistance to organizations which demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that their volunteers are adequately trained and competent to render effective tax counseling to the elderly; ‘‘(2) to provide for the training of such volunteers, and to assist in such training, to insure that such vol- unteers are qualified to provide tax counseling assist- ance to elderly individuals; ‘‘(3) to provide reimbursement to volunteers through such organizations for transportation, meals, and other expenses incurred by them in training or providing tax counseling assistance under this sec- tion, and such other support and assistance as he de- termines to be appropriate in carrying out the provi- sions of this section; ‘‘(4) to provide for the use of services, personnel, and facilities of Federal executive agencies and of State and local public agencies with their consent, with or without reimbursement therefor; and ‘‘(5) to prescribe such rules and regulations as he deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. ‘‘(c) EMPLOYMENT OF VOLUNTEERS.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Service as a volunteer in any pro- gram carried out under this section shall not be con- sidered service as an employee of the United States. Volunteers under such a program shall not be consid- ered Federal employees and shall not be subject to the provisions of law relating to Federal employ- ment, except that the provisions of section 1905 of title 18, United States Code, shall apply to volunteers as if they were employees of the United States. ‘‘(2) EXPENSES.—Amounts received by volunteers serving in any program carried out under this section as reimbursement for expenses are exempt from tax- ation under chapters 1 and 21 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [formerly I.R.C. 1954]. ‘‘(d) PUBLICITY RELATING TO INCOME TAX PROVISIONS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT TO THE ELDERLY.—The Sec- retary shall, from time to time, undertake to direct the attention of elderly individuals to those provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 which are particu- larly important to taxpayers who are elderly individ- uals, such as the provisions of section 37 (relating to credit for the elderly) and section 121 (relating to one- time exclusion of gain from sale of principal residence) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— ‘‘(1) The term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate. ‘‘(2) The term ‘elderly individual’ means an indi- vidual who has attained the age of 60 years as of the close of his taxable year. ‘‘(3) The term ‘Federal income tax return’ means any return required under chapter 61 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with respect to the tax imposed on an individual under chapter 1 of such Code. ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to be appropriated for the purpose of car- rying out the provisions of this section $2,500,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1979, and $3,500,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1980.’’ § 7805. Rules and regulations (a) Authorization Except where such authority is expressly given by this title to any person other than an officer or employee of the Treasury Department, the Secretary shall prescribe all needful rules and regulations for the enforcement of this title, including all rules and regulations as may be necessary by reason of any alteration of law in relation to internal revenue. (b) Retroactivity of regulations (1) In general Except as otherwise provided in this sub- section, no temporary, proposed, or final regu- lation relating to the internal revenue laws shall apply to any taxable period ending before the earliest of the following dates: (A) The date on which such regulation is filed with the Federal Register. (B) In the case of any final regulation, the date on which any proposed or temporary regulation to which such final regulation re- lates was filed with the Federal Register. (C) The date on which any notice substan- tially describing the expected contents of any temporary, proposed, or final regulation is issued to the public. (2) Exception for promptly issued regulations Paragraph (1) shall not apply to regulations filed or issued within 18 months of the date of the enactment of the statutory provision to which the regulation relates. (3) Prevention of abuse The Secretary may provide that any regula- tion may take effect or apply retroactively to prevent abuse. (4) Correction of procedural defects The Secretary may provide that any regula- tion may apply retroactively to correct a pro- cedural defect in the issuance of any prior reg- ulation. (5) Internal regulations The limitation of paragraph (1) shall not apply to any regulation relating to internal Treasury Department policies, practices, or procedures. (6) Congressional authorization The limitation of paragraph (1) may be su- perseded by a legislative grant from Congress Page 4067 TITLE 26—INTERNAL REVENUE CODE § 7805 authorizing the Secretary to prescribe the ef- fective date with respect to any regulation. (7) Election to apply retroactively The Secretary may provide for any taxpayer to elect to apply any regulation before the dates specified in paragraph (1). (8) Application to rulings The Secretary may prescribe the extent, if any, to which any ruling (including any judi- cial decision or any administrative determina- tion other than by regulation) relating to the internal revenue laws shall be applied without retroactive effect. (c) Preparation and distribution of regulations, forms, stamps, and other matters The Secretary shall prepare and distribute all the instructions, regulations, directions, forms, blanks, stamps, and other matters pertaining to the assessment and collection of internal rev- enue. (d) Manner of making elections prescribed by Secretary Except to the extent otherwise provided by this title, any election under this title shall be made at such time and in such manner as the Secretary shall prescribe. (e) Temporary regulations (1) Issuance Any temporary regulation issued by the Sec- retary shall also be issued as a proposed regu- lation. (2) 3-year duration Any temporary regulation shall expire with- in 3 years after the date of issuance of such regulation. (f) Review of impact of regulations on small busi- ness (1) Submissions to Small Business Administra- tion After publication of any proposed or tem- porary regulation by the Secretary, the Sec- retary shall submit such regulation to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Busi- ness Administration for comment on the im- pact of such regulation on small business. Not later than the date 4 weeks after the date of such submission, the Chief Counsel for Advo- cacy shall submit comments on such regula- tion to the Secretary. (2) Consideration of comments In prescribing any final regulation which su- persedes a proposed or temporary regulation which had been submitted under this sub- section to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration— (A) the Secretary shall consider the com- ments of the Chief Counsel for Advocacy on such proposed or temporary regulation, and (B) the Secretary shall discuss any re- sponse to such comments in the preamble of such final regulation. (3) Submission of certain final regulations In the case of the promulgation by the Sec- retary of any final regulation (other than a temporary regulation) which does not super- sede a proposed regulation, the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) shall apply; except that— (A) the submission under paragraph (1) shall be made at least 4 weeks before the date of such promulgation, and (B) the consideration (and discussion) re- quired under paragraph (2) shall be made in connection with the promulgation of such final regulation. (Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 736, 68A Stat. 917; Pub. L. 94–455, title XIX, § 1906(b)(13)(A), Oct. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1834; Pub. L. 98–369, div. A, title I, § 43(b), July 18, 1984, 98 Stat. 558; Pub. L. 100–647, title VI, § 6232(a), Nov. 10, 1988, 102 Stat. 3734; Pub. L. 101–508, title XI, § 11621(a), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–503; Pub. L. 104–168, title XI, § 1101(a), July 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 1468; Pub. L. 105–206, title III, § 3704, July 22, 1998, 112 Stat. 777.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1998—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 105–206 struck out ‘‘by regu- lations or forms’’ before ‘‘prescribe’’. 1996—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 104–168 struck out ‘‘or rul- ings’’ after ‘‘regulations’’ in heading and amended text generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘The Secretary may prescribe the extent, if any, to which any ruling or regulation, relating to the internal revenue laws, shall be applied without retroactive ef- fect.’’ 1990—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 101–508 substituted heading for one which read ‘‘Impact of regulations on small business reviewed’’ and amended text generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘After the publica- tion of any proposed regulation by the Secretary and before the promulgation of any final regulation by the Secretary which does not supersede a proposed regula- tion, the Secretary shall submit such regulation to the Administrator of the Small Business Administration for comment on the impact of such regulation on small business. The Administrator shall have 4 weeks from the date of submission to respond.’’ 1988—Subsecs. (e), (f). Pub. L. 100–647 added subsecs. (e) and (f). 1984—Pub. L. 98–369 added subsec. (d). 1976—Pub. L. 94–455 struck out ‘‘or his delegate’’ after ‘‘Secretary’’ wherever appearing. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1996 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 104–168, title XI, § 1101(b), July 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 1469, provided that: ‘‘The amendment made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall apply with respect to regulations which relate to statutory provi- sions enacted on or after the date of the enactment of this Act [July 30, 1996].’’ EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1990 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 101–508, title XI, § 11621(b), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–504, provided that: ‘‘The amendment made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall apply to regulations issued after the date which is 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 5, 1990].’’ EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1988 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 100–647, title VI, § 6232(b), Nov. 10, 1988, 102 Stat. 3735, provided that: ‘‘The amendments made by this section [amending this section] shall apply to any regulation issued after the date which is 10 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 10, 1988].’’ EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1984 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 98–369 applicable to taxable years ending after July 18, 1984, see section 44 of Pub. Page 4068 TITLE 26—INTERNAL REVENUE CODE § 7806 L. 98–369, set out as an Effective Date note under sec- tion 1271 of this title. FORM 1040SR FOR SENIORS Pub. L. 115–123, div. D, title II, § 41106, Feb. 9, 2018, 132 Stat. 157, provided that: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) shall make available a form, to be known as ‘Form 1040SR’, for use by individuals to file the return of tax imposed by chapter 1 of the Inter- nal Revenue Code of 1986. Such form shall be as similar as practicable to Form 1040EZ, except that— ‘‘(1) the form shall be available only to individuals who have attained age 65 as of the close of the tax- able year, ‘‘(2) the form may be used even if income for the taxable year includes— ‘‘(A) social security benefits (as defined in section 86(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986), ‘‘(B) distributions from qualified retirement plans (as defined in section 4974(c) of such Code), annu- ities or other such deferred payment arrangements, ‘‘(C) interest and dividends, or ‘‘(D) capital gains and losses taken into account in determining adjusted net capital gain (as defined in section 1(h)(3) of such Code), and ‘‘(3) the form shall be available without regard to the amount of any item of taxable income or the total amount of taxable income for the taxable year. ‘‘(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The form required by sub- section (a) shall be made available for taxable years be- ginning after the date of the enactment of this Act [Feb. 9, 2018].’’ INTERNET AVAILABILITY Pub. L. 105–206, title II, § 2003(d), July 22, 1998, 112 Stat. 725, provided that: ‘‘In the case of taxable periods beginning after December 31, 1998, the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s delegate shall establish procedures for all tax forms, instructions, and publica- tions created in the most recent 5-year period to be made available electronically on the Internet in a searchable database at approximately the same time such records are available to the public in paper form. In addition, in the case of taxable periods beginning after December 31, 1998, the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s delegate shall, to the extent prac- ticable, establish procedures for other taxpayer guid- ance to be made available electronically on the Inter- net in a searchable database at approximately the same time such guidance is available to the public in paper form.’’ § 7806. Construction of title (a) Cross references The cross references in this title to other por- tions of the title, or other provisions of law, where the word ‘‘see’’ is used, are made only for convenience, and shall be given no legal effect. (b) Arrangement and classification No inference, implication, or presumption of legislative construction shall be drawn or made by reason of the location or grouping of any par- ticular section or provision or portion of this title, nor shall any table of contents, table of cross references, or similar outline, analysis, or descriptive matter relating to the contents of this title be given any legal effect. The pre- ceding sentence also applies to the sidenotes and ancillary tables contained in the various prints of this Act before its enactment into law. (Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 736, 68A Stat. 917.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This Act, referred to in subsec. (b), is act Aug. 16, 1954. § 7807. Rules in effect upon enactment of this title (a) Interim provision for administration of title Until regulations are promulgated under any provision of this title which depends for its ap- plication upon the promulgation of regulations (or which is to be applied in such manner as may be prescribed by regulations) all instructions, rules or regulations which are in effect imme- diately prior to the enactment of this title shall, to the extent such instructions, rules, or regula- tions could be prescribed as regulations under authority of such provision, be applied as if pro- mulgated as regulations under such provision. (b) Provisions of this title corresponding to prior internal revenue laws (1) Reference to law applicable to prior period Any provision of this title which refers to the application of any portion of this title to a prior period (or which depends upon the ap- plication to a prior period of any portion of this title) shall, when appropriate and con- sistent with the purpose of such provision, be deemed to refer to (or depend upon the appli- cation of) the corresponding provision of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939 or of such other internal revenue laws as were applicable to the prior period. (2) Elections or other acts If an election or other act under the provi- sions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939 would, if this title had not been enacted, be given effect for a period subsequent to the date of enactment of this title, and if cor- responding provisions are contained in this title, such election or other act shall be given effect under the corresponding provisions of this title. (Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 736, 68A Stat. 917.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Internal Revenue Code of 1939, referred to in sub- sec. (b), is act Feb. 10, 1939, ch. 2, 53 Stat. 1. Prior to the enactment of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [for- merly I.R.C. 1954], the 1939 Code was classified to former Title 26, Internal Revenue Code. The Internal Revenue Code of 1954 was redesignated The Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by Pub. L. 99–514, § 2, Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2095. For table of comparisons of the 1939 Code to the 1986 Code, see Table I preceding section 1 of this title. § 7808. Depositaries for collections The Secretary is authorized to designate one or more depositaries in each State for the de- posit and safe-keeping of the money collected by virtue of the internal revenue laws; and the re- ceipt of the proper officer of such depositary to the proper officer or employee of the Treasury Department for the money deposited by him shall be a sufficient voucher for such Treasury officer or employee in the settlement of his ac- counts. (Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 736, 68A Stat. 918; Pub. L. 94–455, title XIX, § 1906(b)(13)(A), Oct. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1834.)