[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 574 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 574
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct outreach to inform
certain individuals of their potential eligibility for the Earned
Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit, and for other purposes.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 28, 2021
Ms. Moore of Wisconsin (for herself, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Beyer, Mr.
Suozzi, Ms. Scanlon, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Norton, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Danny
K. Davis of Illinois, Ms. Bonamici, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Hastings,
Ms. DelBene, Mr. Blumenauer, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Carson, Mr. Rush, Mr.
Vargas, Mr. Welch, Ms. Sewell, Mr. Horsford, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Higgins of
New York, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Ryan, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Mr.
Schneider, Mrs. Lawrence, and Ms. DeLauro) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct outreach to inform
certain individuals of their potential eligibility for the Earned
Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit, and for other purposes.
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 ``Earned Income and Child Tax Credits
Outreach Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. OUTREACH TO CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS REGARDING THE EARNED INCOME TAX
CREDIT AND THE CHILD TAX CREDIT.
(a) In General.--Not later than March 1, 2021, the Secretary of the
Treasury shall carry out a program of public outreach, including on the
Internet and through mailed notices, to inform identified individuals
of their potential eligibility for the earned income tax credit under
section 32 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the child tax
credit under section 24 of such Code.
(b) Identified Individuals.--
(1) In general.--The term ``identified individuals''--
(A) means individuals--
(i) who used the non-filer portal to
provide their identifying information and
receive recovery rebate payments, and
(ii) whose identity has been verified by
the Internal Revenue Service, and
(B) does not include individuals who--
(i) are age 65 or older as of December 31,
2020, and
(ii) did not claim a dependent in tax year
2019.
(c) Non-Filer Portal.--The term ``non-filer portal'' means the
electronic portal established by the Secretary of the Treasury for the
purpose of making payments under section 6428 of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 to individuals who did not file a return of tax for 2018
or 2019.
(d) Form and Manner of Notice.--Mailed notices sent to identified
individuals under subsection (a) may be sent to individuals in such
form and manner as the Secretary of the Treasury may require, including
as an attachment to, or in conjunction with, any mailed correspondence
providing information on recovery rebate payments.
(e) Notice Contents.--Mailed notices sent to identified individuals
under subsection (a) shall provide--
(1) a description of the earned income tax credit and the
qualifications for receiving such credit,
(2) a description of the child tax credit and the
qualifications for receiving such credit,
(3) information on the availability of, and eligibility
requirements for receiving, advice and assistance from
qualified return preparation programs as defined in section
7526A(e)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and
information regarding how to locate and contact such programs,
and
(4) information on the availability of, and eligibility
requirements for receiving, advice and assistance from
organizations that provide tax counseling for the elderly
pursuant to a cooperative agreement with the Internal Revenue
Service under section 163 of the Revenue Act of 1978 (Public
Law 95-600), and information regarding how to locate and
contact such organizations.
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVENESS STUDY.
(a) Study.--The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
shall conduct a study to--
(1) evaluate the outreach conducted under section 2(a),
including--
(A) a description of communications the Internal
Revenue Service issued,
(B) the date the Internal Revenue Service issued
communications on the Internet and the date mailed
notices were sent,
(C) whether the information provided on the
Internet and in mailed notices adequately described the
earned income tax credit and the child tax credit and
the qualifications for receiving such credits,
(D) in what languages such communications were
offered,
(E) the number of filers who used the non-filer
portal to properly claim recovery rebate payments, and
(F) the number of mailed notices that were returned
to the IRS as undeliverable, and
(2) make recommendations for improving outreach to expand
the use of the credits by identified individuals.
(b) Report.--Not later than December 31, 2022, the Treasury
Inspector General for Tax Administration shall submit to the Committee
on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Senate
Committee on Finance a report on the results of the study conducted
under subsection (a).
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