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Bill · 119th Congress · HR 6956

BARCODE Efficiency Act

Refreshed 2 h ago

Introduced 2026-01-07Topic: taxes · technology privacy · governance ethics

Summary

Summary by the Congressional Research Service

Barcode Automation for Revenue Collection to Organize Disbursement and Enhance Efficiency Act or the BARCODE Efficiency Act This bill requires the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to use barcodes, barcode scanning technology, and optical character recognition (or similar) technology to digitize certain federal tax return information and correspondence, unless the technology is slower or less reliable than other IRS processes (subject to conditions). Specifically, the bill requires a scannable barcode on electronically-prepared federal tax returns that are printed and filed in paper format with the IRS. The bill also requires the IRS to use barcode scanning technology to convert data included on such returns into an electronic format. Further, the bill requires the IRS to use optical character recognition (or similar) technology to transcribe federal tax returns and correspondence received by the IRS that are not prepared electronically and are received in paper format. However, under the bill, the use of barcodes, barcode scanning technology, and optical character recognition (or similar) technology is not required if (1) such technology is slower or less reliable than manual transcription or any other IRS process, and (2) the IRS provides a report to Congress regarding the determination to not use such technology.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

Action history

DateChamberActionStatus effect
2026-04-28SenateReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.refer
2026-04-27HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
2026-04-27HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H3100)
2026-04-27Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H3100)floor pass
2026-04-27HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 6956.
2026-04-27HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H3100-3101)
2026-04-27HouseMr. Smith (MO) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
2026-02-20HousePlaced on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 434.
2026-02-20HouseReported (Amended) by the Committee on Ways and Means. H. Rept. 119-508.report
2026-02-20Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Ways and Means. H. Rept. 119-508.report
2026-01-14HouseOrdered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by the Yeas and Nays: 42 - 0.refer
2026-01-14HouseCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Heldrefer
2026-01-07HouseReferred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.refer
2026-01-07Introduced in Houseintroduce
2026-01-07Introduced in Houseintroduce
Source: GovInfo Bill Status (Library of Congress), fetched 2026-09-20. Provisions and opinion polling arrive in a later release.