The Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, also known as Taxpayer Bill of Rights III (), resulted from hearings held by the United States Congress in 1996 and 1997. The Act included numerous amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The bill was passed in the Senate unanimously, and was seen as a major reform of the Internal Revenue Service. Provisions Individuals The Act provides that individuals who fail to provide their taxpayer identification numbers are not allowed to take the earned income credit for the year in which the failure occurs. Individuals are allowed to deduct interest expense paid on certain student loans. The exclusion, from income, of gain on the sale of a principal residence (up to $250,000 for individuals or $500,000 on a joint return) is pro-rated for certain taxpayers. The use of a continuous levy—a levy attaching to both property held on the date of levy and to property acquired after that date—must be specifically approved by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) before the levy is effective. Business and investment The Act changed the holding period for long-term capital gain treatment from eighteen months to twelve months, effective for tax years that begin after December 31, 1997. Structure and function of the IRS The Act mandated the replacement of geographic regional divisions of the IRS with units designed to serve particular categories of taxpayers. The Act also provided a five-year term of office for the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The Act also provided that the National Taxpayer Advocate will be appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and will report directly to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The Act created an IRS Oversight Board to ensure, among other things, that taxpayers are properly treated by IRS employees. The IRS was barred from using the term "illegal tax protester". Taxpayer rights or behavior of IRS personnel The Act created a limited privilege for taxpayers with respect to certain communications made between a taxpayer and a "federally authorized tax practitioner" in non-criminal proceedings. The Act allows for civil damages of up to $100,000 where an IRS office or employee negligently disregards the tax statutes or regulations. The Act limits the use of certain financial status audit techniques by IRS employees. The Act also provides that unless the Commissioner of Internal Revenue decides otherwise, an IRS employee must be fired if the employee has been