HR 997: National Taxpayer Advocate Enhancement Act of 2025

HR 997 in plain English: This bill would give the National Taxpayer Advocate the authority to appoint and oversee legal counsel directly within the Taxpayer Advocate Service, rather than having those attorneys supervised by the Treasury Department's General Counsel. It also expands the Advocate's personnel authority over all Taxpayer Advocate Service employees, not just local taxpayer advocates in each state.

Stated purpose

The bill aims to allow the National Taxpayer Advocate to hire and consult their own legal counsel directly within the Taxpayer Advocate Service, conforming to the original intent of a 1998 law that restructured the IRS.

Key points

• Allows the National Taxpayer Advocate to appoint legal counsel who report directly to that office
• Expands the Advocate's personnel authority to cover all TAS employees, not just state-level advocates
• Moves TAS legal counsel outside the Treasury Department's General Counsel supervision

Arguments supporters make

• The TAS was always meant to be an independent voice for taxpayers, and having its own legal counsel helps it operate without relying on lawyers who also work for the IRS or Treasury.
• This simply fixes a gap between what Congress intended in 1998 and how the law has worked in practice, correcting an oversight rather than creating new powers.
• Giving the Taxpayer Advocate control over all TAS personnel makes the office more accountable and better able to help people who have disputes with the IRS.

Arguments opponents make

• Removing legal counsel from Treasury's central oversight could create conflicts within the agency and lead to inconsistent legal advice across government tax administration.
• The existing arrangement ensures legal counsel meets government-wide standards; a separate TAS legal team may lack coordination and duplicate resources at taxpayer expense.
• Expanding the Advocate's personnel authority over all TAS employees, not just local offices, could concentrate too much power in a single appointed official with limited external checks.

Tradeoffs

Greater independence for the Taxpayer Advocate may strengthen its ability to challenge IRS decisions on behalf of taxpayers, but it reduces centralized legal oversight within Treasury that helps ensure consistent application of tax law across the agency.

Current status in Congress: Passed House.

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