YourVoice.Now Summary
Your MoneyCorporate BenefitsCivil LibertiesIf you pay someone to do your taxes, the IRS would check their filing ID in real time before your return could go through.
Your Money
A return could not be filed with an IRS preparer ID that was canceled or taken over by someone else. The IRS system would answer each check right away, so an ID flagged as bad would stop working at once.
Corporate Benefits
Tax software would have to check the preparer's IRS ID before sending any return, and refuse to send it if the check fails. That is a new step for preparers and a new requirement for the companies whose software they use.
Civil Liberties
The IRS could share information from the ID-check system with tax software companies, state tax agencies, and banks — only what they need to confirm an ID is active. The same legal safeguards that cover other IRS data sharing would apply, starting two years after the bill becomes law.
More about this bill
Most people would see no change at tax time. If you pay someone to do your taxes, they use an ID number from the IRS to file for you. It is called an EFIN, short for electronic filing identification number. The IRS would have to confirm that the number is active before each return goes through. Tax software could not send the return unless that check clears. The check is built to catch numbers that were shut off or taken over by someone else. A preparer whose number was suspended or revoked could not use it to file. The IRS could also share the status of these numbers with tax software firms, state tax agencies, and banks. Those groups could run the checks too. None of this would start soon. It would apply to tax years that begin more than two years after the bill becomes law.
Congressional Summary
EFIN Verification Act of 2026 This bill requires the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or a specified validator (e.g., software provider or state agency) to validate that an electronic filing identification number (EFIN) is authorized and active before a federal tax return or other document may be electronically filed with the IRS. (As background, an EFIN is assigned by the IRS to an individual or entity who is authorized to file federal tax returns and other documents on behalf of other taxpayers.) Specifically, the bill requires (1) the IRS to develop a program to validate the status of an EFIN in real time, and (2) EFINs to be validated prior to the initial use and at intervals determined by the IRS.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2026-09-10
- Date Added
- 2026-09-22
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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