Internal Revenue Service Math and Taxpayer Help Act

Taxpayers will receive specific explanations of alleged math or clerical errors, the resulting tax changes, and their deadline and options for responding.

What the law does ​

• Requires IRS notices to identify each applicable error, explain it plainly, cite the relevant tax provision and return line, and itemize resulting changes.
• Bars notices from merely listing several possible errors.
• Requires the cancellation deadline and automated tax transcript service phone number to appear prominently on notices.
• Allows taxpayers to request cancellation in writing, electronically, by telephone, or in person under procedures established within 180 days.
• Requires a plain-language, itemized follow-up notice when the IRS cancels an assessment.
• Directs the Treasury Department to test certified or registered mail with electronic delivery confirmation and report the results to Congress.

Who it affects ​

• Taxpayers receiving IRS math or clerical error notices.
• IRS personnel who prepare notices, process cancellation requests, and issue follow-up explanations.
• Treasury officials responsible for the tracked-delivery pilot and congressional report.

Breakdown ​

Internal Revenue Service Math and Taxpayer Help Act ​

This law requires the IRS to make math or clerical error notices clearer, more specific, and more useful to taxpayers. It also expands ways to request cancellation of an assessment, requires follow-up notices when an assessment is canceled, and creates a pilot program to test tracked delivery methods.

Key takeaways

• IRS notices must identify the specific error, explain it in plain language, cite the relevant tax provision and return line, and itemize resulting changes to the taxpayer’s return.
• Notices cannot merely list several possible errors, although they must list every specific error that actually applies.
• The deadline for requesting cancellation of an assessment must appear prominently on the first page, and the notice must include the automated tax transcript service phone number.
• Taxpayers must be allowed to request cancellation in writing, electronically, by telephone, or in person under procedures established within 180 days after enactment.
• When the IRS cancels an assessment, it must send the taxpayer a plain-language notice with an itemized explanation of the resulting adjustments.
• The Treasury Department must test certified or registered mail with electronic delivery confirmation and report to Congress on its effects on taxpayer responses and tax adjustments.