Congress Passes Internal Revenue Service Math and Taxpayer Help Act
The U.S. Senate recently passed the Internal Revenue Service Math and Taxpayer Help Act, H.R. 998. Among other changes, the bill requires the IRS to provide taxpayers with specific information on notices related to a math or clerical error. Approved by the House earlier this year, the bill now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature.
Under the bill, an IRS notice related to a math or clerical error must 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 IRS additionally must send a notice regarding an abatement of tax assessed due to a math or clerical error that clearly describes the abatement and includes an itemized computation of adjustments to be made to the items detailed in the notice of the error.
The bill also requires the IRS to provide procedures for requesting 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 certain information about the pilot program to Congress.