IRS must explain denied refunds or pay extra interest.
H.R. 9481 — RETURN Act · Filed by Deborah Ross (D-NC) · 5 cosponsors · Introduced Jun 25, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
The bill requires the IRS to respond within 12 months. If it denies a claim, it must give a written explanation. It must also tell the person how to appeal. If the IRS misses the deadline, it must pay extra interest. The extra interest is 1 percent on the overpayment. It is capped at $500 yearly, adjusted for inflation. Claims ruled frivolous by a court are exempt.
Who it affects
Taxpayers who file refund claims with the IRS are affected. They would get written explanations if claims are denied. They could receive extra interest if the IRS is late.
One thing to notice
The $500 cap on extra interest may not push the IRS to meet deadlines for large refund claims.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
5 cosponsors: 5 Democrats.
- Jun 25, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jun 25, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- overpayment — Money a person paid to the IRS that was more than owed.
- appeal — A formal request to review a decision and ask for a different outcome.
- inflation — When prices go up over time, so money buys less than before.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (3,086 characters) on Nov 2, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,927 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-11-02.
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