Congress passes IRS Math and Taxpayer Help Act

The Senate passed the Internal Revenue Service Math and Taxpayer Help Act despite the government shutdown, following the bill's passage back in April by the House, sending it to President Trump for his signature.

The IRS MATH Act, which is supported by the American Institute of CPAs, would require the tax agency to clearly communicate tax-filing errors to taxpayers, identify the item that's being changed, and explain why a tax refund is higher or lower than expected. The bill was introduced in February by Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, where it quickly passed later that month. The Senate passed it Monday.

This bill requires the IRS to provide specific information on a notice related to a math or clerical error, send a notice related to an abatement of taxes assessed due to a math or clerical error, provide procedures for requesting such an abatement, and implement a pilot program for sending notices of a math or clerical error.

Under the bill, a notice sent by the IRS about a math or clerical error needs to include:

• A clear description of the error, including the type of error and the specific federal tax return line on which the error was made;
• An itemized computation of adjustments required to correct the error;
• The phone number for the automated transcript service; and,
• The deadline for requesting an abatement of any tax assessed due to the error.

The bill requires the IRS to send a notice related to an abatement of tax assessed due to a math or clerical error clearly describing the abatement and including an itemized computation of adjustments to be made to the items described in the notice of the error.

This bill also requires the IRS to:

• Provide procedures for requesting in writing, electronically, by phone, or in person an abatement of tax assessed due to a math or clerical error;
• Implement a pilot program to send notices of a math or clerical error by certified or registered mail; and,
• Report to Congress certain information about the pilot program.

The AICPA hailed passage of the bill.

"The IRS Math and Taxpayer Help Act represents common-sense reform that enhances IRS operations and improves the taxpayer experience," said AICPA vice president of tax policy and advocacy Melanie Lauridsen in a statement Wednesday. "This new law directly addresses long-standing issues with how the IRS communicates and resolves mathematical or clerical errors on tax returns. By expanding access to abatement procedures and establishing a pilot program for better communication, this law provides greater fairness and due process, reduces confusion and stress, and offers taxpayers improved access to remedies. This law will also allow practitioners to more easily offer streamlined support to their clients while reducing the administrative burden to the IRS and enhancing trust in the tax administration system. The AICPA is proud to have endorsed this legislation when it was introduced and applaud its progress toward becoming law."