H.R. 5349 — Tax Court Improvement Act

This section cites the Act as the "Tax Court Improvement Act" and sets forth the general rule that amendments made by the Act are to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

This section authorizes judges and special trial judges of the U.S. Tax Court to issue subpoenas requiring the attendance of parties or witnesses and the production of books, papers, documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things from any place in the United States for discovery or use as evidence. It further authorizes depositions of witnesses before designated individuals competent to administer oaths, with testimony reduced to writing and subscribed by the deponent, all pursuant to Tax Court rules and orders.

This section expands the jurisdiction of special trial judges in the U.S. Tax Court by authorizing them, with the consent of the parties and pursuant to Tax Court rules, to hear any proceeding not described in existing categories (i.e., those currently assigned under paragraphs (1) through (6) of 26 U.S.C. §7443A(b)), effective upon the Tax Court's adoption of implementing rules. The section also grants special trial judges authority to punish contempt of the Tax Court's authority, limited to penalties for a Class C misdemeanor as provided in 18 U.S.C. §§3571(b)(6) and 3581(b)(8), without limiting other sanctions available under statute or Tax Court rules.

This section applies the federal judicial disqualification standards of 28 U.S.C. 455—requiring judges to recuse themselves if their impartiality might reasonably be questioned or if they have specified conflicts of interest (e.g., financial interests, prior involvement as counsel)—to judges, special trial judges, and proceedings of the U.S. Tax Court.

This section authorizes the U.S. Tax Court to toll, based on facts and circumstances warranting equitable relief, the 90-day period for filing a petition for redetermination of a tax deficiency. (As background, under IRC §6213(a), a taxpayer must petition the Tax Court within 90 days of an IRS notice of deficiency, during which the IRS is barred from assessing the tax.) It mandates tolling of that period, notwithstanding other law, for the number of days a Tax Court filing location (i.e., clerk's office or electronic portal) is inaccessible—such as due to a lapse in appropriations—plus 14 days. It amends IRC §7459(d) so that dismissals solely for denial of tolling are not treated as adjudications of taxpayer liability. The changes apply to petitions filed after enactment.