WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) released the following statement after President Trump signed his Internal Revenue Service Math and Taxpayer Health (IRS MATH) Act into law. The legislation will improve math and clerical error notices, an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) authority used to quickly adjust taxpayers’ returns.
“President Trump and I want Americans who play by the rules to keep their hard-earned income. An honest mistake on a tax return should be met with clear guidance from the IRS, not confusion. I appreciate President Trump’s partnership in making this a priority,” said Dr. Cassidy.
Background
In October, Cassidy applauded the U.S. Senate passage of his IRS Math Act.
The Internal Revenue Code allows the IRS to make “math error” corrections — expedited adjustments to tax returns that contain simple math or clerical errors. Unlike other adjustments, which are made after a notice period and are challengeable in U.S. Tax Court, math and clerical adjustments are made automatically and require taxpayers to initiate responses to reverse them within 60 days. If the taxpayer does not contest the notice within the 60 days, the taxpayer forfeits their right to challenge, and the IRS can move forward with its normal collections process.
Each year, millions of Americans receive math error notices reducing their tax refunds but find the notices “vague and confusing” because they do not explain what error the IRS has corrected or that taxpayers have only 60 days to challenge the IRS’s position. The notices often list several potential errors that may have been made rather than specifying the exact issue, and they do not properly notify taxpayers of ways to contest the IRS adjustment, resulting in compounding errors on future tax returns and further risks to taxpayers. The legislation aims to improve the unworkable system to help hardworking taxpayers, who often cannot afford expensive tax advisors to help them navigate the complicated correspondence process. The legislation follows the 2024 tax filing deadline and vastly improved taxpayer services this filing season, but the lawmakers are urging the IRS to build on those improvements by fixing long-standing issues with math error notices.
The IRS MATH Act addresses this problem for taxpayers by directing the IRS to improve notices of math or clerical errors, requiring that notices:
- Identify the line item IRS is changing;
- Explain the reason for the change, and;
- Clearly list the taxpayer’s required response date.
In addition, the bill requires:
- the IRS to notify the taxpayer of abatement determinations when taxpayers disagree with the IRS.
- the U.S. Treasury Secretary to provide additional procedures for requesting an abatement of a math or clerical error adjustment, including by telephone or in person.
Creation of a pilot program coordinated by the IRS and National Taxpayer Advocate to determine the benefit of sending math or clerical error notices by certified or registered mail.
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