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© 2026 Govwatch

HR8299Referred to Committee

Autofill Act of 2026

Share:
Introduced
In Committee
3
Passed One Chamber
4
Passed Both
5
Signed into Law
119th
Congress
2026-04-15
Introduced
1
Cosponsors
HR
ⓘ
Type

Sponsor

Bill Foster
Bill Foster
Democrat · IL · Representative
Votes with party: 97.7% (649 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/F000454

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (1)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

  • Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12)Original· 2026-04-15

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

2026-04-15

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

Currently in

  • House Committee on Ways and MeansReferred To · 2026-04-15

Previously

  • Ways and Means CommitteeReferred To · 2026-04-15

Plain-English Summary

The bill would require the IRS to create downloadable tax forms that automatically fill in your personal information, so taxpayers wouldn't have to manually enter details like their name, address, and income that the government already has on file. This would make filing taxes faster and easier for individuals and families, though it would likely affect tax preparation companies that currently profit from helping people complete forms. The proposal aims to simplify the tax filing process for ordinary Americans while potentially reducing errors caused by manual data entry.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

Subjects

Taxation

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 8299 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8299 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a program to populate downloadable tax forms with taxpayer return information. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 15, 2026 Mr. Foster (for himself and Ms. Tlaib) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a program to populate downloadable tax forms with taxpayer return information. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Autofill Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. AUTOMATED PARTIALLY PRE-POPULATED TAX RETURNS. (a) In General.--Chapter 77 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new section: ``SEC. 7531. AUTOMATED PARTIALLY PRE-POPULATED TAX RETURNS. ``(a) Establishment of Program.--The Secretary shall establish a program under which taxpayers may download forms relating to the individual income tax returns that are populated with return information reported to the Secretary under chapter 61 and reported to the Secretary pursuant to section 232 of the Social Security Act. ``(b) Requirements Relating to Information.-- ``(1) Deadline for making information available.--The Secretary shall make such return information available under the program established under subsection (a) not later than 15 days after the Secretary receives such information. ``(2) Format of information made available.--Return information shall be made available under the program established under subsection (a) in both a printable document file suitable for manual completion and filing and in a computer-readable form suitable for use by automated tax preparation software. ``(c) Autofill Service Deadlines.-- ``(1) Standards.--Not later than October 31, 2026, the Secretary shall-- ``(A) establish standards for data download to tax preparation software, and ``(B) provide a demonstration server for downloading the partially populated printable document file. ``(2) Tax forms.--Not later than February 15, 2027, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall provide on the Secretary's website a secure function that allows a taxpayer to download, as both a printable document file and in a form suitable for input to automatic tax preparation software, the 1040, 1040A, and 1040EZ forms that are populated with information with respect to the taxpayer that is reported under chapter 61 or any other provision of this title under which reporting of information is required. ``(d) Taxpayer Responsibility.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to absolve the taxpayer from full responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of his return of tax. ``(e) Disclaimer.--Before any form can be downloaded under the program established under subsection (a), taxpayer must acknowledge that-- ``(1) the taxpayer is responsible for the accuracy of his return, and ``(2) all information provided in the downloadable form under such program needs to be verified. ``(f) Information Provided for Wage and Self Employment Income.-- For purposes of subsection (a)-- ``(1) Information related to calendar year 2026.--In the case of information relating to wages paid, and amounts of self-employment income, for calendar year 2026 required to be provided to the Commissioner of Social Security under section 205(c)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(A)), the Commissioner shall, using best efforts, make such information available to the Secretary not later than January 31, 2027. ``(2) Information related to calendar year 2027 and thereafter.--In the case of information relating to wages paid, and amounts of self-employment income, for any calendar year after 2026 required to be provided to the…
Show the remaining 229 wordsHide the remaining 229 words
Commissioner of Social Security under section 205(c)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(A)), the Commissioner shall make such information available to the Secretary not later than the January 31 of the calendar year following the calendar year to which such wages and self-employment income relate.''. (b) Filing Deadline for Information Returns.--Section 6071(b) of such Code is amended to read as follows: ``(b) Information Returns.--Returns made under part III of this subchapter shall be filed on or before January 31 of the year following the calendar year to which such returns relate. Section 6081 shall not apply to returns under such part III.''. (c) Conforming Amendment to Social Security Act.--Section 205(c)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(A)) is amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: ``For purposes of the preceding sentence, the Commissioner shall require that information relating to wages paid, and amounts of self-employment income, be provided to the Commissioner not later than January 31 of the year following the calendar year to which such wages and self- employment income relate.''. (d) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 77 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the following new item: ``Sec. 7531. Automated partially pre-populated tax returns.''. (e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall apply to returns for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025. <all>
Open clean-text viewRead on Congress.gov →

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