26 U.S.C. § 7529 — Notification of suspected identity theft

Page 3971 TITLE 26—INTERNAL REVENUE CODE § 7529 (iii) Determination of average fees charged For purposes of any determination of av- erage fees charged, any request to which subparagraph (B) applies shall not be taken into account. (3) Average fee requirement The average fee charged under the program required by subsection (a) shall not be less than the amount determined under the fol- lowing table: Average Category Fee Employee plan ruling and opinion ... $250 Exempt organization ruling ............. $350 Employee plan determination ......... $300 Exempt organization determination $275 Chief counsel ruling ......................... $200. (4) Certified professional employer organiza- tions The fee charged under the program in con- nection with the certification by the Sec- retary of a professional employer organization under section 7705 shall be an annual fee not to exceed $1,000 per year. (Added Pub. L. 108–89, title II, § 202(a), Oct. 1, 2003, 117 Stat. 1132; amended Pub. L. 108–357, title VIII, § 891(a), Oct. 22, 2004, 118 Stat. 1644; Pub. L. 110–28, title VIII, § 8244, May 25, 2007, 121 Stat. 200; Pub. L. 113–295, div. B, title II, § 206(f), Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 4071.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2014—Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 113–295 added par. (4). 2007—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 110–28 struck out heading and text of subsec. (c). Text read as follows: ‘‘No fee shall be imposed under this section with respect to re- quests made after September 30, 2014.’’ 2004—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 108–357 substituted ‘‘Sep- tember 30, 2014’’ for ‘‘December 31, 2004’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2014 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 113–295 applicable with re- spect to wages for services performed on or after Janu- ary 1 of the first calendar year beginning more than 12 months after Dec. 19, 2014, see section 206(g)(1) of Pub. L. 113–295, set out as a note under section 3302 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2004 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 108–357, title VIII, § 891(b), Oct. 22, 2004, 118 Stat. 1644, provided that: ‘‘The amendment made by this section [amending this section] shall apply to re- quests after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 22, 2004].’’ EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2003 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 108–89, title II, § 202(d), Oct. 1, 2003, 117 Stat. 1133, provided that: ‘‘The amendments made by this section [enacting this section, enacting provisions set out as a note under this section, and repealing provi- sions set out as notes under section 7801 of this title] shall apply to requests made after the date of the en- actment of this Act [Oct. 1, 2003].’’ LIMITATIONS Pub. L. 108–89, title II, § 202(c), Oct. 1, 2003, 117 Stat. 1133, provided that: ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provi- sion of law, any fees collected pursuant to section 7528 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as added by sub- section (a), shall not be expended by the Internal Rev- enue Service unless provided by an appropriations Act.’’ § 7529. Notification of suspected identity theft (a) In general If the Secretary determines that there has been or may have been an unauthorized use of the identity of any individual, the Secretary shall, without jeopardizing an investigation re- lating to tax administration— (1) as soon as practicable— (A) notify the individual of such deter- mination, (B) provide instructions on how to file a report with law enforcement regarding the unauthorized use, (C) identify any steps to be taken by the individual to permit law enforcement to ac- cess personal information of the individual during the investigation, (D) provide information regarding actions the individual may take in order to protect the individual from harm relating to the un- authorized use, and (E) offer identity protection measures to the individual, such as the use of an identity protection personal identification number, and (2) at the time the information described in paragraph (1) is provided (or, if not available at such time, as soon as practicable there- after), issue additional notifications to such individual (or such individual’s designee) re- garding— (A) whether an investigation has been ini- tiated in regards to such unauthorized use, (B) whether the investigation substan- tiated an unauthorized use of the identity of the individual, and (C) whether— (i) any action has been taken against a person relating to such unauthorized use, or (ii) any referral has been made for crimi- nal prosecution of such person and, to the extent such information is available, whether such person has been criminally charged by indictment or information. (b) Employment-related identity theft (1) In general For purposes of this section, the unauthor- ized use of the identity of an individual in- cludes the unauthorized use of the identity of the individual to obtain employment. (2) Determination of employment-related iden- tity theft For purposes of this section, in making a de- termination as to whether there has been or may have been an unauthorized use of the identity of an individual to obtain employ- ment, the Secretary shall review any informa- tion— (A) obtained from a statement described in section 6051 or an information return relat- ing to compensation for services rendered other than as an employee, or (B) provided to the Internal Revenue Serv- ice by the Social Security Administration Page 3972 TITLE 26—INTERNAL REVENUE CODE § 7530 regarding any statement described in sec- tion 6051, which indicates that the social security ac- count number provided on such statement or information return does not correspond with the name provided on such statement or infor- mation return or the name on the tax return reporting the income which is included on such statement or information return. (Added Pub. L. 116–25, title II, § 2007(a), July 1, 2019, 133 Stat. 1005.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2019 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 116–25, title II, § 2007(d), July 1, 2019, 133 Stat. 1006, provided that: ‘‘The amendments made by this section [enacting this section and amending section 432 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare] shall apply to determinations made after the date that is 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act [July 1, 2019].’’ PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP TO ADDRESS IDENTITY THEFT REFUND FRAUD Pub. L. 116–25, title II, § 2001, July 1, 2019, 133 Stat. 1001, provided that: ‘‘The Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) shall work collaboratively with the public and private sectors to protect tax- payers from identity theft refund fraud.’’ INFORMATION SHARING AND ANALYSIS CENTER Pub. L. 116–25, title II, § 2003(a), (b), July 1, 2019, 133 Stat. 1001, provided that: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) may participate in an infor- mation sharing and analysis center to centralize, standardize, and enhance data compilation and analysis to facilitate sharing actionable data and information with respect to identity theft tax refund fraud. ‘‘(b) DEVELOPMENT OF PERFORMANCE METRICS.—The Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) shall develop metrics for measuring the success of such center in detecting and preventing identity theft tax refund fraud.’’ SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT FOR TAX-RELATED IDENTITY THEFT VICTIMS Pub. L. 116–25, title II, § 2006, July 1, 2019, 133 Stat. 1004, provided that: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) shall establish and implement procedures to ensure that any taxpayer whose return has been delayed or otherwise adversely affected due to tax-related identity theft has a single point of contact at the Internal Revenue Service throughout the proc- essing of the taxpayer’s case. The single point of con- tact shall track the taxpayer’s case to completion and coordinate with other Internal Revenue Service em- ployees to resolve case issues as quickly as possible. ‘‘(b) SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection (a), the single point of contact shall consist of a team or subset of specially trained employees who— ‘‘(A) have the ability to work across functions to resolve the issues involved in the taxpayer’s case; and ‘‘(B) shall be accountable for handling the case until its resolution. ‘‘(2) TEAM OR SUBSET.—The employees included within the team or subset described in paragraph (1) may change as required to meet the needs of the In- ternal Revenue Service, provided that procedures have been established to— ‘‘(A) ensure continuity of records and case his- tory; and ‘‘(B) notify the taxpayer when appropriate.’’ EXAMINATION OF BOTH PAPER AND ELECTRONIC STATEMENTS AND RETURNS Pub. L. 116–25, title II, § 2007(b)(1), July 1, 2019, 133 Stat. 1006, provided that: ‘‘The Secretary of the Treas- ury (or the Secretary’s delegate) shall examine the statements, information returns, and tax returns de- scribed in section 7529(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by subsection (a)) for any evi- dence of employment-related identity theft, regardless of whether such statements or returns are submitted electronically or on paper.’’ UNDERREPORTING OF INCOME Pub. L. 116–25, title II, § 2007(b)(3), July 1, 2019, 133 Stat. 1006, provided that: ‘‘The Secretary of the Treas- ury (or the Secretary’s delegate) shall establish proce- dures to ensure that income reported in connection with the unauthorized use of a taxpayer’s identity is not taken into account in determining any penalty for underreporting of income by the victim of identity theft.’’ GUIDELINES FOR STOLEN IDENTITY REFUND FRAUD CASES Pub. L. 116–25, title II, § 2008, July 1, 2019, 133 Stat. 1006, provided that: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act [July 1, 2019], the Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate), in consultation with the National Taxpayer Advocate, shall develop and implement publicly available guide- lines for management of cases involving stolen identity refund fraud in a manner that reduces the administra- tive burden on taxpayers who are victims of such fraud. ‘‘(b) STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES TO BE CONSID- ERED.—The guidelines described in subsection (a) may include— ‘‘(1) standards for— ‘‘(A) the average length of time in which a case involving stolen identity refund fraud should be re- solved; ‘‘(B) the maximum length of time, on average, a taxpayer who is a victim of stolen identity refund fraud and is entitled to a tax refund which has been stolen should have to wait to receive such refund; and ‘‘(C) the maximum number of offices and employ- ees within the Internal Revenue Service with whom a taxpayer who is a victim of stolen identity refund fraud should be required to interact in order to re- solve a case; ‘‘(2) standards for opening, assigning, reassigning, or closing a case involving stolen identity refund fraud; and ‘‘(3) procedures for implementing and accom- plishing the standards described in paragraphs (1) and (2), and measures for evaluating such procedures and determining whether such standards have been suc- cessfully implemented.’’ § 7530. Application of earned income tax credit to possessions of the United States (a) Puerto Rico (1) In general With respect to calendar year 2021 and each calendar year thereafter, the Secretary shall, except as otherwise provided in this sub- section, make payments to Puerto Rico equal to— (A) the specified matching amount for such calendar year, plus (B) in the case of calendar years 2021 through 2025, the lesser of— (i) the expenditures made by Puerto Rico during such calendar year for education ef-