BARCODE Efficiency Act
What does the BARCODE Efficiency Act do?
HR 6956 is a House bill sponsored by Rep. Bradley Scott Schneider (D-IL). When taxpayers prepare their returns electronically but print and mail them, the IRS has to transcribe that data by hand to get it into electronic format. This bill requires those returns to be formatted so they are compatible with the IRS's scanning technology, and requires the IRS to use scanning technology to convert them automatically. For returns prepared entirely by hand and for paper correspondence, the IRS must use optical character recognition technology. The requirement can be waived if the Secretary of the Treasury determines it is slower or less reliable than manual processing — but any waiver must be reported to Congress within 30 days.
Did HR 6956 pass? Where it stands
As of August 30, 2026, HR 6956 has passed the House.
Status: Passed House
Latest vote: House Passed by voice vote on April 27, 2026
Outlook: Unlikely
Key provisions
- Scanning of E-Prepared Paper Returns
- E-prepared paper returns must be formatted for the IRS's scanning technology
- Applies to individual income tax returns 180 days after enactment
- OCR for Everything Else
- Hand-prepared returns and paper IRS correspondence transcribed via optical character recognition
- Estate and gift returns: 24 months; all other returns and correspondence: 18 months after enactment
- Performance Waiver
- IRS may skip the technology if it's slower or less reliable than manual processing — but must report to Congress within 30 days
Last updated August 9, 2026