Taxpayer ID Protection and Fraud Prevention Act

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish or modify various requirements related to protecting taxpayer identities and filing tax returns electronically.

The bill requires:

• tax refunds for electronically filed returns to be made by electronic funds transfer with certain exceptions;
• the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), to the maximum extent practicable, to allow income tax refunds to be made by electronic funds transfer to prepaid debit cards, Direct Express cards, digital wallets, and other secure electronic payment methods;
• the IRS to report to Congress annually on improper payments made by the IRS;
• the IRS to work collaboratively with the public and private sectors to protect taxpayers from identity theft refund fraud; and
• the Department of the Treasury to ensure that the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee studies (including by providing organized public forums) and makes recommendations to Treasury regarding methods to prevent identity theft refund fraud.

The bill also:

• decreases from 250 to 25 the minimum number of tax returns a taxpayer must be required to file during the year to allow the IRS to require electronic filing, and
• changes the earliest date on which credits or refunds may be made for the child tax credit or the earned income tax credit to the 1st day of the third month (currently the 15th day of the second month) following the close of the taxable year.