Two senators, Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), have introduced legislation aimed at making math error notices from the IRS easier to understand, Accounting Today reported.
The lawmakers’ Internal Revenue Service Math and Taxpayer Health (IRS MATH) Act is intended to help taxpayers, especially those who can't afford lawyers or accountants, address issues with math error notices—expedited adjustments to tax returns that the IRS deems to contain simple math or clerical errors—the senators explained in the summary of the legislation. The notices are notoriously vague, often listing several potential errors that may have been made rather than specifying the exact issue, they maintained, and they also do not properly notify taxpayers of ways to contest the IRS adjustment.
Their bill would direct the IRS to improve notices of math or clerical errors; require the IRS to notify the taxpayer of abatement determinations; require the Treasury secretary to provide additional procedures for requesting an abatement of a math or clerical error adjustment, including by telephone or in person; and create a pilot program coordinated by the IRS and the National Taxpayer Advocate Service to determine the benefit of sending math or error notices by certified or registered mail.
“Filing your taxes can get confusing—and sometimes, mistakes happen,” said Warren in a statement. “And when they do, taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to decipher confusing, intimidating, and financially-impactful letters from the IRS. It’s time to improve procedures and notices that correct these errors so that hardworking Americans can get the money they’re entitled to and get back to their daily lives.”
“The IRS is confusing enough,” said Cassidy in the statement. “If there’s a mistake on a tax return, the IRS needs to explain it in plain English and there must be clear lines of communication. Taxpayers should have every opportunity to keep their hard-earned income.”
The bill was also introduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) and Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa).