BARCODE Efficiency Act
Latest action · Apr 28, 2026 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJan 7, 2026
- Passed HouseApr 27, 2026
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
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.
Cosponsors 1
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Jan 7, 2026.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-IN | Rudy Yakym III | Original | Jan 7, 2026 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Ways and Means Committee | Referred Jan 7, 2026Markup Jan 14, 2026Reported Feb 20, 2026 |
| Senate | Finance Committee | Referred Apr 28, 2026 |
Actions 12
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 28, 2026Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
- Apr 27, 2026Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H3100)
- Apr 27, 2026Mr. Smith (MO) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Apr 27, 2026Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H3100-3101)
- Apr 27, 2026DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 6956.
- Apr 27, 2026Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- Feb 20, 2026Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Ways and Means. H. Rept. 119-508.
- Feb 20, 2026Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 434.
- Jan 14, 2026Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- Jan 14, 2026Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by the Yeas and Nays: 42 - 0.
- Jan 7, 2026Introduced in House
- Jan 7, 2026Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H3100, H3101Text printed H3100 | Bradley Scott Schneider D-IL, Jason Smith R-MO, Rudy Yakym III R-IN | Apr 27, 2026 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Apr 21, 2026H.R. 6956, BARCODE Efficiency ActAs reported by the House Committee on Ways and Means on February 20, 2026
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 172, no. 4, January 7, 2026, page H135.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 452 | BARCODE Efficiency Act | Identical bill | Feb 6, 2025 |
Titles 10
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To require electronically prepared tax returns to include scannable code when submitted on paper, and to require the use of optical character recognition technology for paper documents received by the Internal Revenue Service.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- BARCODE Efficiency Act
- Barcode Automation for Revenue Collection to Organize Disbursement and Enhance Efficiency Act
- Short Title(s) as Reported to House
- BARCODE Efficiency Act
- Barcode Automation for Revenue Collection to Organize Disbursement and Enhance Efficiency Act
- Short Title(s) as Passed House
- BARCODE Efficiency Act
- Barcode Automation for Revenue Collection to Organize Disbursement and Enhance Efficiency Act
- Short Titles from RFS (Referred to Senate) bill text
- Barcode Automation for Revenue Collection to Organize Disbursement and Enhance Efficiency Act
- BARCODE Efficiency Act
- Official Title from EH (Engrossed in House) bill text
- To require electronically prepared tax returns to include scannable code when submitted on paper, and to require the use of optical character recognition technology for paper documents received by the Internal Revenue Service.
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Taxation.
Text 4
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 28, 2026Referred in Senate
- Apr 27, 2026Engrossed in House
- Feb 20, 2026Reported in House
- Jan 7, 2026Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
