Congress tightens penalties for IRS leaks of donor names to charities
S. 4539 — Protecting Charitable Giving Act · Filed by Todd Young (R-IN) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced May 14, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill increases criminal penalties for IRS employees or contractors who illegally disclose donor names and addresses from tax-exempt organizations' Form 990 Schedule B filings, raising the maximum fine from $5,000 to $250,000 per violation. It also expands where such cases can be prosecuted (to include the victim's home district) and requires the IRS to audit and report on any such disclosures to prevent future leaks.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is to increase criminal penalties and expand prosecution venue for a specific category of government misconduct (unauthorized disclosure of donor information). It is a targeted enforcement measure, not a tax change or subsidy.
What the text implies
- Expanded venue rules (allowing prosecution in victim's home district) may increase litigation costs for IRS employees accused of disclosure, potentially affecting recruitment or morale in tax administration.
- The definition of 'victim' includes both the organization and individual contributors, which may create standing for private civil suits beyond criminal prosecution if state law permits.
- Mandatory IRS audits and public reporting on disclosures may create a chilling effect on legitimate IRS information-sharing with law enforcement or other agencies, depending on how 'disclosure' is interpreted.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Ordinary citizens who donate to charities gain stronger legal protection against government disclosure of their giving records, reducing the risk that their charitable contributions will be publicly exposed without consent. The bill does not restrict citizens' rights or remedies; it strengthens enforcement against government leaks.
Named in the bill
Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Form 990 Schedule B, Section 501(c)(3) organizations, Section 501(c)(4) organizations, Section 7213 (Internal Revenue Code), Section 7803 (Internal Revenue Code), Section 6103 (Internal Revenue Code)
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.
- May 14, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- May 14, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Finance · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $660,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 66 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Todd Young, the sponsor, reported $704,220 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Americans for Prosperity — $660,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 16, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (2,999 characters) on Sep 21, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 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.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 16, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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