Protecting Americans’ Privacy Act of 2025
The Protecting Americans’ Privacy Act of 2025 aims to block unauthorized access to the Treasury Department’s central payment systems (including those used by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service) and to strengthen privacy protections for tax return information. The bill makes it unlawful for certain individuals to access or control public money receipt or payment systems, and it creates private civil remedies for those harmed by such access. It also tightens confidentiality rules for Internal Revenue Service return data, barring disclosure to the same categories of individuals and allowing taxpayers to sue for damages if those rules are violated. The overall goal is to reduce insider or improper access to sensitive financial and tax data and to deter improper handling through civil liability.
Key Points
- 1Unauthorized access prohibition: It is unlawful for certain individuals to knowingly access or exercise administrative control over central Treasury payment systems unless they are a federal employee or eligible federal contractor meeting specific criteria; it also bars those with conflicts of interest or without required ethics agreements from such access. It also makes it unlawful to facilitate or enable access in violation of these rules.
- 2Private enforcement and damages: Individuals harmed by improper access can sue in federal or state court for relief, including damages (the greater of actual damages or $250,000 per unauthorized access), equitable relief, punitive damages, and legal costs. Violations can result in joint and several liability for related access.
- 3Broad definitions and scope: The bill defines key terms (agency, control, covered employee/covered entity, federal contractor/employee, noncareer employee) and applies to public money receipt and payment systems across the Treasury, including successors to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service. It also covers entities and contractors with varying employment relationships.
- 4Confidentiality of tax return information: The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit disclosure of tax returns or return information to individuals described in the access-restriction section via public money systems. Taxpayers may sue for damages if such disclosures occur, with damages set at up to $250,000 per violation.
- 5Pre-enactment rights preserved: The act states that nothing in the new provisions should infer whether acts that occurred before enactment were lawful or permitted.