[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4549 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4549
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require additional
information on math and clerical error notices.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 13, 2024
Ms. Warren (for herself and Mr. Cassidy) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require additional
information on math and clerical error notices.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Internal Revenue Service Math and
Taxpayer Help Act of 2024'' or the ``IRS MATH Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT OF NOTICES OF MATH OR CLERICAL ERROR.
(a) In General.--Section 6213(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 is amended--
(1) by striking ``errors.--If the taxpayer'' and inserting
``errors.--
``(A) In general.--If the taxpayer'',
(2) by striking ``Each notice'' in the second sentence and
inserting ``Subject to subparagraph (B), each notice'', and
(3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(B) Specificity of math or clerical error
notice.--
``(i) In general.--The notice provided
under subparagraph (A) shall--
``(I) be sent to the taxpayer's
last known address,
``(II) describe the mathematical or
clerical error in comprehensive, plain
language, including--
``(aa) the type of error,
``(bb) the section of this
title to which the error
relates,
``(cc) a description of the
nature of the error, and
``(dd) the specific line of
the return on which the error
was made,
``(III) an itemized computation of
any direct or incidental adjustments to
be made to the return in correction of
the error, including any adjustment to
the amount of--
``(aa) adjusted gross
income,
``(bb) taxable income,
``(cc) itemized or standard
deductions,
``(dd) nonrefundable
credits,
``(ee) credits under
section 24, 25A, 32, 35, or
36B, credits claimed with
respect to undistributed long-
term capital gains on Form
2439, credits for Federal taxes
paid on fuels claimed on Form
4136, and any other refundable
credits,
``(ff) income tax,
``(gg) other taxes,
``(hh) total tax,
``(ii) Federal income tax
withheld or excess tax withheld
under section 3101 or 3201(a),
``(jj) estimated tax
payments, including amount
applied from prior year's
return,
``(kk) refund or amount
owed,
``(ll) net operating loss
carryforwards, or
``(mm) credit
carryforwards,
``(IV) include the telephone number
for the automated phone transcript
service, and
``(V) display the date by which the
taxpayer may request to abate any
assessment specified in such notice
pursuant to paragraph (2)(A), in bold,
font size 14, and immediately next to
the taxpayer's address on page 1 of the
notice.
``(ii) No lists of potential errors.--A
notice which provides multiple potential or
alternative errors which may be applicable to
the return shall not be sufficiently specific
for purposes of clause (i)(II); however, if
multiple specific errors apply to the return
all such errors should be listed.''.
(b) Notice of Abatement.--Paragraph (2) of section 6213(b) is
amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(C) Notice.--Upon determination of an abatement
pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall send
notice to the taxpayer of such abatement which--
``(i) is sent to the taxpayer's last known
address,
``(ii) describes the abatement in
comprehensive, plain language, and
``(iii) provides an itemized computation of
any adjustments to be made to the items
described in the notice of mathematical or
clerical error, including any changes to any
item described in paragraph (1)(B)(i)(III).''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to notices sent after the date which is 12 months after the date
of the enactment of this Act.
(d) Procedures.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury (or such
Secretary's delegate) shall provide for procedures by which a taxpayer
may request an abatement pursuant to section 6213(b)(1)(B)(i)(V) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 in writing, electronically, by telephone,
or in person.
(e) Pilot Program.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury (or such
Secretary's delegate), in consultation with the National Taxpayer
Advocate, shall--
(1) implement a pilot program to send a trial number of
notices, in an amount which is a statistically significant
portion of all such notices, of mathematical or clerical error
pursuant to section 6213(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 by certified or registered mail with e-signature
confirmation of receipt, and
(2) report to Congress, aggregated by the type of error
under section 6213(g) of such Code to which the notices relate,
on--
(A) the number of mathematical or clerical errors
noticed under the program and the dollar amounts
involved,
(B) the number of abatements of tax and the dollar
amounts of such abatements, and
(C) the effect of such pilot program on taxpayer
response and adjustments or abatements to tax,
with conclusions drawn about the effectiveness of certified
mail, with and without return receipt, and any other
recommendations for improving taxpayer response rates.
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