H.R. 6956: BARCODE Efficiency Act
A House bill (H.R.) in the 119th U.S. Congress.
Overview
| Congress | 119th U.S. Congress (2025–2026) |
|---|---|
| Type | House bill (H.R.) |
| Originating chamber | House |
| Introduced | 2026-01-07 |
| Sponsor | Rep. Schneider, Bradley Scott [D-IL-10] |
| Policy area | Taxation |
| Cosponsors | 1 |
| Latest action | 2026-04-28 — Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. |
| Last updated | 2026-07-17 |
Summary
Official summary (Introduced in House, 2026-01-07):
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)
| Name | Party / state |
|---|---|
| Rudy Yakym III | R IN (original cosponsor) 2026-01-07 |
Full text & official record
The official bill text, section-by-section summary, amendments, committee reports, and the complete legislative timeline for H.R. 6956 are published by Congress on congress.gov.
View H.R. 6956 on congress.gov →
Frequently asked questions
What is H.R. 6956?
H.R. 6956 is a House bill (H.R.) introduced in the 119th U.S. Congress, originating in the House. Official title: BARCODE Efficiency Act.
Where can I read the full bill text?
The full text, cosponsors, amendments, and legislative status for H.R. 6956 are available on congress.gov.
Bill data: congress.gov API (official congressional records).