Commissioner of Internal Revenue
Appointment
In general
There shall be in the Department of the Treasury a Commissioner of Internal Revenue who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Such appointment shall be made from individuals who, among other qualifications, have a demonstrated ability in management.
Term
The term of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall be a 5-year term, beginning with a term to commence on . Each subsequent term shall begin on the day after the date on which the previous term expires.
Vacancy
Any individual appointed as Commissioner of Internal Revenue during a term as defined in subparagraph (B) shall be appointed for the remainder of that term.
Removal
The Commissioner may be removed at the will of the President.
Reappointment
The Commissioner may be appointed to serve more than one term.
Duties
Execution of duties in accord with taxpayer rights
Consultation with Board
The Commissioner shall consult with the Oversight Board on all matters set forth in paragraphs (2) and (3) (other than paragraph (3)(A)) of section 7802(d).
Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service
Appointment
There shall be in the Department of the Treasury a Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the consent of the Senate.
Duties
Persons to whom Chief Counsel reports
Chief Counsel personnel
All personnel in the Office of Chief Counsel shall report to the Chief Counsel.
Office of the Taxpayer Advocate
Establishment
In general
There is established in the Internal Revenue Service an office to be known as the “Office of the Taxpayer Advocate”.
National Taxpayer Advocate
In general
section 5382 of title 5The Office of the Taxpayer Advocate shall be under the supervision and direction of an official to be known as the “National Taxpayer Advocate”. The National Taxpayer Advocate shall report directly to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and shall be entitled to compensation at the same rate as the highest rate of basic pay established for the Senior Executive Service under , United States Code.
Appointment
The National Taxpayer Advocate shall be appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury after consultation with the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and the Oversight Board and without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, relating to appointments in the competitive service or the Senior Executive Service.
Qualifications
Restriction on employment
An individual may be appointed as the National Taxpayer Advocate only if such individual was not an officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service during the 2-year period ending with such appointment and such individual agrees not to accept any employment with the Internal Revenue Service for at least 5 years after ceasing to be the National Taxpayer Advocate. Service as an officer or employee of the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate shall not be taken into account in applying this clause.
Functions of office
In general
Annual reports
Objectives
Not later than June 30 of each calendar year, the National Taxpayer Advocate shall report to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate on the objectives of the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate for the fiscal year beginning in such calendar year. Any such report shall contain full and substantive analysis, in addition to statistical information.
Activities
Report to be submitted directly
Each report required under this subparagraph shall be provided directly to the committees described in clause (i) without any prior review or comment from the Commissioner, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Oversight Board, any other officer or employee of the Department of the Treasury, or the Office of Management and Budget. The preceding sentence shall not apply with respect to statistical information provided to the Secretary for review, or received from the Secretary, under section 6108(d).
Coordination with report of Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
To the extent that information required to be reported under clause (ii) is also required to be reported under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (d) by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the National Taxpayer Advocate shall not contain such information in the report submitted under such clause.
Other responsibilities
Personnel actions
In general
Consultation
The National Taxpayer Advocate may consult with the appropriate supervisory personnel of the Internal Revenue Service in carrying out the National Taxpayer Advocate’s responsibilities under this subparagraph.
Coordination with Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
Before beginning any research or study, the National Taxpayer Advocate shall coordinate with the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to ensure that the National Taxpayer Advocate does not duplicate any action that the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has already undertaken or has a plan to undertake.
Responsibilities of Commissioner
The Commissioner shall establish procedures requiring a formal response to all recommendations submitted to the Commissioner by the National Taxpayer Advocate within 3 months after submission to the Commissioner.
Operation of local offices
In general
Maintenance of independent communications
Each local office of the taxpayer advocate shall maintain a separate phone, facsimile, and other electronic communication access, and a separate post office address.
Taxpayer Advocate Directives
Additional duties of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
Annual reporting
Semiannual reports
In general .—
Other responsibilities
Independent Office of Appeals
Establishment
There is established in the Internal Revenue Service an office to be known as the “Internal Revenue Service Independent Office of Appeals”.
Chief of Appeals
In general
section 5382 of title 5The Internal Revenue Service Independent Office of Appeals shall be under the supervision and direction of an official to be known as the “Chief of Appeals”. The Chief of Appeals shall report directly to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and shall be entitled to compensation at the same rate as the highest rate of basic pay established for the Senior Executive Service under , United States Code.
Appointment
The Chief of Appeals shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, relating to appointments in the competitive service or the Senior Executive Service.
Qualifications
Purposes and duties of office
Right of appeal
The resolution process described in paragraph (3) shall be generally available to all taxpayers.
Limitation on designation of cases as not eligible for referral to Independent Office of Appeals
In general
Report to Congress
The Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall submit a written report to Congress on an annual basis which includes the number of requests described in subparagraph (A) which were denied and the reasons (described by category) that such requests were denied.
Procedures for protesting denial of request
The Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall prescribe procedures for protesting to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue a denial of a request described in subparagraph (A).
Not applicable to frivolous positions
This paragraph shall not apply to a request for referral to the Internal Revenue Service Independent Office of Appeals which is denied on the basis that the issue involved is a frivolous position (within the meaning of section 6702(c)).
Staff
In general
All personnel in the Internal Revenue Service Independent Office of Appeals shall report to the Chief of Appeals.
Access to staff of Office of the Chief Counsel
The Chief of Appeals shall have authority to obtain legal assistance and advice from the staff of the Office of the Chief Counsel. The Chief Counsel shall ensure, to the extent practicable, that such assistance and advice is provided by staff of the Office of the Chief Counsel who were not involved in the case with respect to which such assistance and advice is sought and who are not involved in preparing such case for litigation.
11 See Effective Date of 2019 Amendment note below. Access to case files
In general
In any case in which a conference with the Internal Revenue Service Independent Office of Appeals has been scheduled upon request of a specified taxpayer, the Chief of Appeals shall ensure that such taxpayer is provided access to the nonprivileged portions of the case file on record regarding the disputed issues (other than documents provided by the taxpayer to the Internal Revenue Service) not later than 10 days before the date of such conference.
Taxpayer election to expedite conference
If the taxpayer so elects, subparagraph (A) shall be applied by substituting “the date of such conference” for “10 days before the date of such conference”.
Specified taxpayer
In general
Aggregation rule
Rules similar to the rules of section 448(c)(2) shall apply for purposes of clause (i)(II).
Internal Revenue Service Chief Information Officer
In general
There shall be in the Internal Revenue Service an Internal Revenue Service Chief Information Officer (hereafter referred to in this subsection as the “IRS CIO”) who shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue.
Centralized responsibility for Internal Revenue Service information technology
The Commissioner of Internal Revenue (and the Secretary) shall act through the IRS CIO with respect to all development, implementation, and maintenance of information technology for the Internal Revenue Service. Any reference in this subsection to the IRS CIO which directs the IRS CIO to take any action, or to assume any responsibility, shall be treated as a reference to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue acting through the IRS CIO.
General duties and responsibilities
Strategic plan
In general
Plan updates
The IRS CIO shall, not less frequently than annually, review and update the strategic plan under subparagraph (A) (including the plan for an integrated enterprise architecture described in subparagraph (A)(ii)) to take into account the development of new information technology and the needs of the Internal Revenue Service.
Scope of authority
Information technology
section 11101 of title 40For purposes of this subsection, the term “information technology” has the meaning given such term by , United States Code.
Internal Revenue Service
Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 73668A Stat. 915Pub. L. 92–310, title II, § 230(e)86 Stat. 209Pub. L. 94–455, title XIX, § 1906(a)(58)90 Stat. 1833Pub. L. 105–206, title I, § 1102(a)112 Stat. 697Pub. L. 110–176, § 1(a)121 Stat. 2532Pub. L. 110–428, § 2(c)122 Stat. 4840Pub. L. 114–113, div. Q, title IV, § 401(a)129 Stat. 3117Pub. L. 116–25, title I133 Stat. 983Pub. L. 117–286, § 4(b)(46)136 Stat. 4348(, ; , , ; , (b)(13)(A), , , 1834; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , §§ 1001(a), 1301(a)–(b)(2), (3)(B)–(c), title II, § 2101(a), , , 991–993, 1008; , , .)
Editorial Notes
References in Text
The provisions of title 5 relating to appointments in the competitive service and the Senior Executive Service, referred to in subsec. (c)(1)(B)(ii), are classified generally to section 3301 et seq. of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
Pub. L. 105–206Sections 1203, 1204, and 3707 of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, referred to in subsec. (d)(1)(A)(i), (v), (E), are sections 1203, 1204, and 3707 of , which are set out as notes under sections 7804, 7804, and 6651, respectively, of this title.
section 6227 of Pub. L. 100–647section 7801 of this titleSection 6227 of the Omnibus Taxpayer Bill of Rights, referred to in subsec. (d)(3)(B), is , which is set out as a note under .
Amendments
Pub. L. 117–286, § 4(b)(46)(A)section 405 of title 52022—Subsec. (d)(1). , substituted “, United States Code” for “section 5 of the Inspector General Act of 1978” in introductory provisions.
Pub. L. 117–286, § 4(b)(46)(B)section 405 of title 5Subsec. (d)(2)(A). , substituted “, United States Code” for “section 5 of the Inspector General Act of 1978” in introductory provisions.
Pub. L. 116–25, § 1301(c)2019—Subsec. (c)(1)(B)(i). , struck out before period at end “, or, if the Secretary of the Treasury so determines, at a rate fixed under section 9503 of such title”.
Pub. L. 116–25, § 1301(b)(1)Subsec. (c)(2)(B)(ii)(III). , substituted “the 10 most” for “at least 20 of the most”.
Pub. L. 116–25, § 1301(a)(2)Subsec. (c)(2)(B)(ii)(VIII) to (XIII). , (b)(3)(B), added subcls. (VIII) and (XII), redesignated former subcls. (VIII) to (X) as (IX) to (XI), respectively, and redesignated former subcl. (XI) first as (XII), then as (XIII).
Pub. L. 116–25, § 1301(b)(3)(C)Subsec. (c)(2)(B)(iii). , inserted at end “The preceding sentence shall not apply with respect to statistical information provided to the Secretary for review, or received from the Secretary, under section 6108(d).”
Pub. L. 116–25, § 1301(b)(2)Subsec. (c)(2)(E). , added subpar. (E).
Pub. L. 116–25, § 1301(a)(1)Subsec. (c)(5). , added par. (5).
Pub. L. 116–25, § 1001(a)Subsec. (e). , added subsec. (e).
Pub. L. 116–25, § 2101(a)Subsec. (f). , added subsec. (f).
Pub. L. 114–1132015—Subsec. (a)(3), (4). added par. (3) and redesignated former par. (3) as (4).
Pub. L. 110–1762008—Subsec. (a)(1). amended par. (1) generally, substituting provisions relating to appointment, consisting of subpars. (A) to (E), for similar provisions, consisting of subpars. (A) to (D).
Pub. L. 110–428Subsec. (d)(3)(C). added subpar. (C).
Pub. L. 105–206section 7804 of this title1998— amended section catchline and text generally, substituting present provisions for provisions which: in subsec. (a), authorized appointment of persons for administration and enforcement of internal revenue laws; in subsec. (b), directed Secretary to determine and designate posts of duty of employees in field service, and authorized Secretary to order such employees to duty within and outside District of Columbia; and in subsec. (c), directed Secretary to issue notice and demand for failure to account for and pay over money or property collected in connection with internal revenue laws, and deemed amount so demanded to be imposed and assessed upon the officer or employee upon the date of such notice and demand. See .
Pub. L. 94–455, § 1906(b)1976—Subsecs. (a), (b), (c). (13)(A), struck out “or his delegate” after “Secretary” wherever appearing.
Pub. L. 94–455, § 1906(a)(58)Subsecs. (c), (d). , redesignated subsec. (d) as (c).
Pub. L. 92–3101972—Subsec. (c). repealed subsec. (c) which related to bonds of officers and employees.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Change of Name
Pub. L. 116–25, title I, § 1001(c)133 Stat. 985
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Government Reform of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Sixth Congress, . Committee on Government Reform of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 6, One Hundred Tenth Congress, . Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Oversight and Reform of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 6, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, . Committee on Oversight and Reform of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Oversight and Accountability of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Eighteenth Congress, .
Committee on Governmental Affairs of Senate changed to Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of Senate, effective , by Senate Resolution No. 445, One Hundred Eighth Congress, .
Effective Date of 2019 Amendment
Pub. L. 116–25, title I, § 1001(e)133 Stat. 985
In general .—
Access to case files .—
Pub. L. 116–25section 1301(c) of Pub. L. 116–25section 1301(d) of Pub. L. 116–25section 6108 of this titleAmendment by section 1301(a)–(b)(2), (3)(B)–(c) of effective , except that amendment by applicable to compensation paid to individuals appointed as the National Taxpayer Advocate after , see , set out as a note under .
Effective Date of 2015 Amendment
Pub. L. 114–113, div. Q, title IV, § 401(b)129 Stat. 3117
Effective Date of 2008 Amendment
Pub. L. 110–428section 2(d) of Pub. L. 110–428section 6103 of this titleAmendment by applicable to disclosures made after , see , set out as a note under .
Pub. L. 110–176, § 1(b)121 Stat. 2532
Effective Date of 1998 Amendment
Pub. L. 105–206, title I, § 1102(f)112 Stat. 705
In general .—
Chief counsel .—
National taxpayer advocate .—
Current officers.—
Savings Provisions
Pub. L. 116–25, title I, § 1001(d)133 Stat. 985
Coordination of IRS CIO and Chief Procurement Officer of the Internal Revenue Service
Pub. L. 116–25, title II, § 2101(c)133 Stat. 1010