BARCODE Efficiency Act

119 HR 6956 EH: Barcode Automation for Revenue Collection to Organize Disbursement and Enhance Efficiency Act U.S. House of Representatives text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. I 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 6956

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AN ACT To require electronically prepared tax returns to include scannable code when submitted on paper, and to require the use of optical character recognition technology for paper documents received by the Internal Revenue Service.

1.Short titleThis Act may be cited as the Barcode Automation for Revenue Collection to Organize Disbursement and Enhance Efficiency Act or the BARCODE Efficiency Act.

2.Scanning and digitization of tax returns and correspondence (a)Returns prepared electronically and submitted on paperWith respect to any Federal tax return which is prepared electronically, but is printed and filed on paper— (1)such return shall be formatted in a manner that is compatible with the scanning technology referred to in paragraph (2), and (2)subject to subsection (b)(1)(B), the Internal Revenue Service shall use scanning technology to convert the data included in such return to electronic format. (b)Optical character recognition softwareWith respect to— (1)any Federal tax return which— (A)is not prepared electronically and is printed and filed on paper, or (B)is described in subsection (a)(1) but, for any reason, the data included in such return cannot be accurately converted into electronic format, or (2)any correspondence which is received by the Internal Revenue Service in a paper form (with the exception of any such correspondence which has been received by the Internal Revenue Service in electronic format),the Internal Revenue Service shall use optical character recognition technology (or any functionally similar technology) to transcribe such return or correspondence. (c)Exception (1)In generalSubsection (a) or (b) shall not apply to the extent that the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s delegate determines that the technology described in such subsection is slower or less reliable than— (A)the process of manually transcribing returns or correspondence received in a paper form, or (B)any other process that the Internal Revenue Service is using or would otherwise use. (2)Report to congressAny exception to the application of subsection (a) or (b) pursuant to paragraph (1) shall not take effect unless the Secretary provides a report to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate regarding the determination made under such paragraph within 30 days of such determination. (d)Effective dateThis section shall apply to— (1)any individual income tax return (as defined in section 6011(e)(3)(C) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) received on or after January 1 of the first calendar year beginning more than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, (2)any estate tax return (as described in section 6018 of such Code) or gift tax return (as described in section 6019 of such Code) received on or after January 1 of the first calendar year beginning more than 24 months after the date of enactment of this Act, and (3)any other return or correspondence received on or after January 1 of the first calendar year beginning more than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act. Passed the House of Representatives April 27, 2026.Kevin F. McCumber,Clerk.

119 HR 6956 IH: Barcode Automation for Revenue Collection to Organize Disbursement and Enhance Efficiency Act U.S. House of Representatives 2026-01-07 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. I119th CONGRESS 2d SessionH. R. 6956IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESJanuary 7, 2026Mr. Schneider (for himself and Mr. Yakym) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and MeansA BILLTo require electronically prepared tax returns to include scannable code when submitted on paper, and to require the use of optical character recognition technology for paper documents received by the Internal Revenue Service.1.Short titleThis Act may be cited as the Barcode Automation for Revenue Collection to Organize Disbursement and Enhance Efficiency Act or the BARCODE Efficiency Act.2.Scanning and digitization of tax returns and correspondence(a)Returns prepared electronically and submitted on paperWith respect to any Federal tax return which is prepared electronically, but is printed and filed on paper—(1)such return shall bear a code which, when scanned, converts the data included in such return to electronic format, and(2)subject to subsection (b)(1)(B), the Internal Revenue Service shall use barcode scanning technology to convert the data included in such returns to electronic format.(b)Optical character recognition softwareWith respect to—(1)any Federal tax return which—(A)is not prepared electronically and is printed and filed on paper, or(B)is described in subsection (a)(1) but, for any reason, the data included in such return cannot be accurately converted into electronic format, or(2)any correspondence which is received by the Internal Revenue Service in a paper form (with the exception of any such correspondence which has been received by the Internal Revenue Service in electronic format),the Internal Revenue Service shall use optical character recognition technology (or any functionally similar technology) to transcribe such return or correspondence.(c)Exception(1)In generalSubsection (a) or (b) shall not apply to the extent that the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s delegate determines that the technology described in such subsection is slower or less reliable than—(A)the process of manually transcribing returns or correspondence received in a paper form, or(B)any other process that the Internal Revenue Service is using or would otherwise use.(2)Report to congressAny exception to the application of subsection (a) or (b) pursuant to paragraph (1) shall not take effect unless the Secretary provides a report to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate regarding the determination made by the Secretary under such paragraph within 30 days of such determination.(d)Effective dateThis section shall apply to—(1)any individual income tax return (as defined in section 6011(e)(3)(C) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) received on or after January 1 of the first calendar year beginning more than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act,(2)any estate tax return (as described in section 6018 of such Code) or gift tax return (as described in section 6019 of such Code) received on or after January 1 of the first calendar year beginning more than 24 months after the date of enactment of this Act, and(3)any other return or correspondence received on or after January 1 of the first calendar year beginning more than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act.

119 HR 6956 : Barcode Automation for Revenue Collection to Organize Disbursement and Enhance Efficiency Act U.S. House of Representatives 2026-04-28 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. IIB119th CONGRESS2d SessionH. R. 6956IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESApril 28, 2026Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on FinanceAN ACTTo require electronically prepared tax returns to include scannable code when submitted on paper, and to require the use of optical character recognition technology for paper documents received by the Internal Revenue Service.1.Short titleThis Act may be cited as the Barcode Automation for Revenue Collection to Organize Disbursement and Enhance Efficiency Act or the BARCODE Efficiency Act.2.Scanning and digitization of tax returns and correspondence(a)Returns prepared electronically and submitted on paperWith respect to any Federal tax return which is prepared electronically, but is printed and filed on paper—(1)such return shall be formatted in a manner that is compatible with the scanning technology referred to in paragraph (2), and(2)subject to subsection (b)(1)(B), the Internal Revenue Service shall use scanning technology to convert the data included in such return to electronic format.(b)Optical character recognition softwareWith respect to—(1)any Federal tax return which—(A)is not prepared electronically and is printed and filed on paper, or(B)is described in subsection (a)(1) but, for any reason, the data included in such return cannot be accurately converted into electronic format, or(2)any correspondence which is received by the Internal Revenue Service in a paper form (with the exception of any such correspondence which has been received by the Internal Revenue Service in electronic format),the Internal Revenue Service shall use optical character recognition technology (or any functionally similar technology) to transcribe such return or correspondence.(c)Exception(1)In generalSubsection (a) or (b) shall not apply to the extent that the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s delegate determines that the technology described in such subsection is slower or less reliable than—(A)the process of manually transcribing returns or correspondence received in a paper form, or(B)any other process that the Internal Revenue Service is using or would otherwise use.(2)Report to congressAny exception to the application of subsection (a) or (b) pursuant to paragraph (1) shall not take effect unless the Secretary provides a report to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate regarding the determination made under such paragraph within 30 days of such determination.(d)Effective dateThis section shall apply to—(1)any individual income tax return (as defined in section 6011(e)(3)(C) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) received on or after January 1 of the first calendar year beginning more than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act,(2)any estate tax return (as described in section 6018 of such Code) or gift tax return (as described in section 6019 of such Code) received on or after January 1 of the first calendar year beginning more than 24 months after the date of enactment of this Act, and(3)any other return or correspondence received on or after January 1 of the first calendar year be-ginning more than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act.Passed the House of Representatives April 27, 2026.Kevin F. McCumber,Clerk.

119 HR 6956 RH: Barcode Automation for Revenue Collection to Organize Disbursement and Enhance Efficiency Act U.S. House of Representatives 2026-02-20 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. IBUnion Calendar No. 434119th CONGRESS2d SessionH. R. 6956[Report No. 119–508]IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESJanuary 7, 2026Mr. Schneider (for himself and Mr. Yakym) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and MeansFebruary 20, 2026Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printedStrike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italicFor text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 7, 2026A BILLTo require electronically prepared tax returns to include scannable code when submitted on paper, and to require the use of optical character recognition technology for paper documents received by the Internal Revenue Service.1.Short titleThis Act may be cited as the Barcode Automation for Revenue Collection to Organize Disbursement and Enhance Efficiency Act or the BARCODE Efficiency Act.2.Scanning and digitization of tax returns and correspondence(a)Returns prepared electronically and submitted on paperWith respect to any Federal tax return which is prepared electronically, but is printed and filed on paper—(1)such return shall bear a code which, when scanned, converts the data included in such return to electronic format, and(2)subject to subsection (b)(1)(B), the Internal Revenue Service shall use barcode scanning technology to convert the data included in such return to electronic format.(b)Optical character recognition softwareWith respect to—(1)any Federal tax return which—(A)is not prepared electronically and is printed and filed on paper, or(B)is described in subsection (a)(1) but, for any reason, the data included in such return cannot be accurately converted into electronic format, or(2)any correspondence which is received by the Internal Revenue Service in a paper form (with the exception of any such correspondence which has been received by the Internal Revenue Service in electronic format),the Internal Revenue Service shall use optical character recognition technology (or any functionally similar technology) to transcribe such return or correspondence.(c)Exception(1)In generalSubsection (a) or (b) shall not apply to the extent that the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s delegate determines that the technology described in such subsection is slower or less reliable than—(A)the process of manually transcribing returns or correspondence received in a paper form, or(B)any other process that the Internal Revenue Service is using or would otherwise use.(2)Report to congressAny exception to the application of subsection (a) or (b) pursuant to paragraph (1) shall not take effect unless the Secretary provides a report to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate regarding the determination made under such paragraph within 30 days of such determination.(d)Effective dateThis section shall apply to—(1)any individual income tax return (as defined in section 6011(e)(3)(C) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) received on or after January 1 of the first calendar year beginning more than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act,(2)any estate tax return (as described in section 6018 of such Code) or gift tax return (as described in section 6019 of such Code) received on or after January 1 of the first calendar year beginning more than 24 months after the date of enactment of this Act, and(3)any other return or correspondence received on or after January 1 of the first calendar year beginning more than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act.February 20, 2026Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed