Establishes Pilot Program to Use AI to Identify Fraudulent Tax Returns, Requires Report to Congress on Results
WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Vern Buchanan, Vice Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, announced that his bipartisan AI Tax Integrity Act of 2026 (H.R. 9501) to encourage the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to detect tax fraud was marked up and passed out of committee by the House Ways and Means Committee. Buchanan’s bill is co-led by Congressman Steven Horsford (D-Nev.).
“Protecting American taxpayer dollars is one of our most important responsibilities in Congress, and we should be empowering the IRS to use modern, emerging technologies to ensure that all tax fraud is detected and that bad actors are held accountable,” said Buchanan. “That’s why I’m proud to see my AI Tax Integrity Act with Rep. Horsford get successfully marked up and passed out of committee today. By evaluating how the IRS can harness emerging AI capabilities to strengthen fraud detection, we can ensure that it can conduct efficient, thorough investigations and improve recovery of taxpayer dollars.”
The AI Tax Integrity Act requires the Treasury Secretary to establish a pilot program within the IRS to use AI to identify potentially fraudulent tax returns, including those which are the result of identity theft, fraudulent claims for tax credits, deductions or refunds by individual or business taxpayers, and improperly prepared returns by third-party return preparers.
It also requires the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) to submit a report to the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee evaluating the effectiveness and accuracy of using AI tools and capabilities to assist the IRS in detecting tax fraud. The bill does not expand the IRS’s enforcement capabilities.
In 2020, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) identified $2.3 billion in tax fraud through 1,598 investigations, resulting in 945 prosecution recommendations and 593 sentencing actions. By 2024, the IRS-CI had launched 2,667 investigations, secured 1,571 convictions, uncovered more than $9.1 billion in tax and financial fraud and recovered nearly $3 billion through restitution and asset seizures. Building on this progress, the AI Tax Integrity Act aims to help Treasury and the IRS take their efforts further by evaluating how AI can enhance fraud detection and improve recovery of taxpayer dollars.
Joining Buchanan and Horsford as cosponsors on the AI Tax Integrity Act are Reps. Aaron Bean (R-Fla.) and David Schweikert (R-Ariz.). Buchanan’s bill is supported by the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, Intuit and the 60 Plus Association.
Buchanan is a leader in advancing meaningful legislation to protect hard-working Americans and combat waste, fraud and abuse. In March 2026, he introduced the AI Fraud Accountability Act (H.R. 7786) to crack down on highly realistic AI-generated impersonation scams designed to defraud Americans.
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