What Is the Purple Book?

The Purple Book is presented as part of an annual report to Congress by the National Taxpayer Advocate, which is part of the Taxpayer Advocate Service. The book contains a list of legislative recommendations on how to improve taxpayer services in the U.S. The color purple represents the bipartisan nature of the recommendations, as red and blue together make purple.

How the Purple Book Works

The National Taxpayer Advocate is required by law to present an annual summary of taxpayer issues and key areas in need of policy changes to Congress. The report must include a summary of the 10 most important legislative proposals. It is then designed with a summary at the beginning of each recommendation, going on to present the problem and then the solution, all in simple terms.

Since 2017, the National Taxpayer Advocate has presented a Purple Book to Congress each year as part of the annual report. Each book is a compilation of “noncontroversial, common-sense reforms” that typically receive bipartisan support. According to the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate, 50 of the proposals have become law. More than 20 of these recommendations were included in the Taxpayer First Act of 2019.

The list of recommendations is presented in a user-friendly way, with the recommendations separated into categories. For each recommendation, the Purple Book includes a summary of the present law, the reasons for the proposed changes, and a legislative proposal. The appendix includes reference material for each recommendation featured in the book. This includes bills consistent with the proposals that have been approved by the full House or Senate.

History of the Purple Book

During the two years preceding the inaugural Purple Book, Congress had shown interest in Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reform. The idea behind the book was to provide tax-writing committees with a summary of important legislative proposals.

The first Purple Book was introduced in 2017, and it presented these proposals in a clear and concise manner. It included brand-new proposals, as well as previously introduced legislation dating back to 2003, and was created by Nina Olson, the National Taxpayer Advocate from March 2001 until July 2019. She was replaced by Erin Collins in 2020.

One of the most important initiatives was to request that Congress codify the Taxpayer Bill of Rights as Section 1 of the Internal Revenue Code. The Taxpayer Advocate Service believes that taxpayers serve as the foundation of the U.S. tax system, as the system relies on taxpayers to willingly report income; however, there were concerns about the IRS being unresponsive to taxpayers.

The IRS added the Taxpayer Bill of Rights to the Internal Revenue Code in 2014. All of these rights had already existed in the tax code, but the new format was an easy-to-digest list.

2023 Purple Book

The legislative recommendations in the Purple Book focus on strengthening taxpayers’ rights and improving tax administration. The most recent volume, the 2023 Purple Book, breaks down its recommendations into the following eight categories:

1. Strengthen Taxpayer Rights and Taxpayer Service
2. Improve the Filing Process
3. Improve Assessment and Collection Procedures
4. Reform Penalty and Interest Provisions
5. Strengthen Taxpayer Rights Before the Office of Appeals
6. Strengthen the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate
7. Strengthen Taxpayer Rights in Judicial Proceedings
8. Miscellaneous Recommendations

The 2023 Purple Book includes proposals to authorize the IRS to establish minimum competency standards for federal tax return papers, to expand the tax court's jurisdiction to hear refund cases and assessable penalties, and to restructure the Earned Income Tax Credit to make it simpler for taxpayers.

The Bottom Line

Tax law is complex and is often difficult for taxpayers to navigate. The Purple Book, published by the National Taxpayer Advocate Service, seeks to improve the tax process, strengthen taxpayer rights, and improve tax administration. The book identifies problems and proposes solutions in order to improve the tax process overall.