ICYMI: Senator Carper Introduces Legislation to Ensure Faster, More Accurate IRS Tax Processing

In Case You Missed It, last week U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) introduced the Barcode Automation for Revenue Collection to Organize Disbursement and Enhance (BARCODE) Efficiency Act, bipartisan legislation that would greatly improve the processing of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) paper tax returns by implementing commonsense technology. The full text of the bill introduced with Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) can be found here.

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WRDE Coast TV News

January 25, 2024

[…] U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Todd Young have introduced the BARCODE Efficiency Act, a bipartisan effort aimed at streamlining the IRS. This new legislation proposes the use of 2-D barcodes to improve the processing of paper tax returns. This technology could reduce IRS backlogs and speed up refunds for millions of Americans filing paper returns. The initiative marks a step towards modernizing IRS systems and ensuring faster, more accurate tax processing. […]

Senators press for barcodes on tax returns so IRS can process them faster

By: Jory Heckman
January 25, 2024

Members of the Senate Finance Committee are calling on the Internal Revenue Service to rely on barcodes to process millions of paper tax returns more quickly.

The Barcode Automation for Revenue Collection to Organize Disbursement and Enhance (BARCODE) Efficiency Act, introduced by Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) on Thursday, would require all returns prepared electronically and filed on paper to include a scannable 2-D barcode.

Carper and Young said these barcodes would allow the IRS to easily digitize paper tax returns, and process them more quickly — leading to faster tax refunds.

“As government officials, we have a responsibility to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. That includes ensuring that tax returns are processed accurately and promptly,” Carper said in a statement. […]

Bipartisan Senate bill aims to more easily digitize paper tax return forms

By: Matt Bracken
January 25, 2024

[…] The bill calls for the use of allocated Inflation Reduction Act funding to implement the technology. The $80 billion infusion from the 2021 law has so far been used on everything from the IRS’s electronic Direct File pilot program to leveraging artificial intelligence to better identify tax avoiders.

“The main thing here is that this legislation will help the IRS conserve their resources, minimize processing errors and reduce delays in refunds to taxpayers,” a spokesperson for Carper told FedScoop. “And that’s really the core of what Sen. Carper cares about.”

Leading up to the launch of the IRS’s free electronic filing pilot program, which is available this year to select taxpayers in 13 states, Carper urged the agency to make the process more equitable and accessible, including in letters that he and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., sent to Commissioner Danny Werfel.

“As government officials, we have a responsibility to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. That includes ensuring that tax returns are processed accurately and in a timely manner,” Carper said in a statement. By implementing “commonsense technology” called for in the bill, the IRS will be more efficient and ultimately “make a big difference for millions of American taxpayers,” he added. […]

WTOP News Radio

January 25, 2024

[…] Some taxpayers prepare their tax returns electronically, but choose to print it out and mail it to the IRS rather than submit it online. That creates more work for IRS employees and leads to refund delays, but Senators Tom Carper and Todd Young are introducing a bill that would require all returns prepared electronically and filed on paper to include a scannable 2-D barcode. Several government watchdogs say that bar codes would help the IRS reduce its paper-based workload. […]

Senators Introduce IRS Barcode Technology Bill

By: Jose Rascon
January 25, 2024

A bipartisan pair of senators has introduced legislation that would require the IRS to implement barcode technology to speed up the agency’s tax filing process while saving money for the agency. […]

Sen. Carper said the measure would implement “commonsense technology that will increase the efficiency of the IRS and make a big difference for millions of American taxpayers.”

The bill would instruct the IRS to use 2-D barcode technology that will help minimize errors and make it easier and faster for the agency to convert paper-based tax returns into a digital format. […]

The legislation comes as the National Taxpayer Advocate and the Government Accountability Office have made recommendations for a similar barcode solution that would help improve the processing of paper tax returns.

The senators said that some state tax agencies have been using the same technology for years, and that it has proven successful in accelerating tax filing processes.

“The archaic, manual transcription process the IRS uses to process paper returns today results in substantial delays and imposes significant costs on the agency, and this bill works well with the agency’s current plans and existing allocated funding to modernize processing protocols to more efficiently process paper returns and clear the backlogs,” the senators said.

Hill Tax Brief: Tax Legislation Roundup

By: Naomi Jagoda
January 26, 2024

[…] Tax return scanning: Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) on Thursday introduced a bill to require paper-filed, electronically prepared tax returns to include 2-D bar codes to make it easier for the IRS to process the documents. […]

WGMD

January 25, 2024

[…] Delaware Senator Tom Carper is backing a proposal he says would make paper tax filing easier. The Barcode Automation for Revenue Collection to Organize Disbursement and Enhance Efficiency, or BARCODE, Act would require those markings on all tax forms. The Senator says it would reduce processing errors and get refunds in the hands of taxpayers more quickly. […]

Bill would require IRS returns to have scannable bar code

By: Chris Gaetano
January 26, 2024

Senators Tom Carper, D-Delaware, and Todd Young, R-Indiana, introduced a bill Thursday that, if implemented, would require the IRS to add scannable bar codes on electronically prepared paper returns, as well as use technology to read them, in order to speed up processing. […]

Carper noted that while e-filing has seen major growth, there remain many who still use paper returns. These people often have to wait extra long for their returns to be processed, given the general inefficiency of paper-based manual workflows versus digitally-enabled ones.

“As government officials, we have a responsibility to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. That includes ensuring that tax returns are processed accurately and in a timely manner,” said Carper in a statement. “I’m proud to introduce the BARCODE Efficiency Act because this bill implements commonsense technology that will increase the efficiency of the IRS and make a big difference for millions of American taxpayers.”

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