The Small Business Taxpayer Bill of Rights Act of 2025 establishes a comprehensive set of protections for small businesses and individual taxpayers in their interactions with the Internal Revenue Service. The bill removes net worth limits that previously prevented small businesses (those with under $50 million in annual gross receipts) from recovering attorney fees in tax disputes, increases damages for IRS misconduct from $1 million to $5 million for reckless conduct and from $100,000 to $500,000 for negligence, and extends the filing deadline for these claims from 2 to 5 years. The legislation strengthens IRS accountability by raising penalties for employee misconduct, requiring mandatory termination of employees engaged in improper communications with appeals officers, establishing independent appeals conferences, and mandating mediation and arbitration options for taxpayers. Additional protections include prohibiting the IRS from raising new issues during appeals, restricting liens against primary residences, allowing individuals to deduct up to $5,000 in audit defense costs, eliminating upfront payment requirements for settlement offers, and implementing strict consequences for discriminatory treatment of tax-exempt applicants.
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