We may not have a tax bill for next year yet, but that doesn’t mean that Congress hasn’t been working on tax bills. A flurry of tax-related bills passed the House this week, though admittedly, they are more focused on tax administration than tax policy. Here’s what to know about the five bills.
Disaster-Related Extension of Deadlines Act
The Disaster-Related Extension of Deadlines Act was introduced by Rep. Gregory F. Murphy (R-N.C.) and is intended to aid taxpayers in federally-declared disaster areas.
(Murphy represents the Tarheel State’s third congressional district, which includes the Outer Banks and the counties adjacent to the Pamlico Sound—areas all too familiar with weather-related disasters. Large portions of N.C., including the Outer Banks, were damaged by Hurricane Helene in 2024.)
When you file your tax return, it’s subject to a statute of limitations—more or less, a deadline to take specific actions. When it comes to tax refunds, you typically have three years to file and claim your tax refund. If you don’t file within that time frame, the money becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury. (Some exceptions apply.)
The amount that can be refunded is generally limited to federal income taxes paid within the three years preceding the tax refund claim plus any extension of the federal tax return deadline—referred to as the lookback period. When the federal tax return filing deadline is extended, there is no corresponding extension for the lookback period. That means that tax payments made before a federal tax return is filed could be excluded from the lookback period (and therefore not included in any claim for refund).
The IRS can extend filing dates for tax returns in a federally-declared disaster area. However, without a tweak to the law, some taxpayers may find their refunds at risk due to the lookback period. To resolve that issue, the Disaster-Related Extension of Deadlines Act requires the IRS to treat the postponement of a federal tax return deadline due to a federally declared disaster (or certain other events) as an extension of the tax refund deadline.
The law also changes collections procedures. Under current law, the IRS must mail a notice and demand for tax payment within 60 days of an assessment, but not before the tax payment due date. The bill would require the IRS to calculate the tax payment due date to include the postponement of the tax payment deadline due to a federally declared disaster.
The bill passed unanimously (423-0).
National Taxpayer Advocate Enhancement Act of 2025
The National Taxpayer Advocate Enhancement Act of 2025 was introduced by Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa).
This bill authorizes the National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) to appoint legal counsel as a direct report within the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS). Currently, all legal counsel whose duties include providing legal advice to any official in any office of the Treasury are part of the Legal Division within the Treasury and under the supervision of the General Counsel, with limited exceptions. Since the NTA is technically part of the IRS, that creates some conflict. The bill would give the NTA additional independence when it comes to hiring, rather than be accountable to the IRS.
The job of the TAS is to ensure that every taxpayer is treated fairly and that taxpayers know and understand their rights. While it feels like the TAS has been around forever—that’s not the case. An early version of the organization surfaced in 1979 after the IRS created the Office of the Taxpayer Ombudsman to serve as the primary advocate within the IRS for taxpayers. That office was eventually codified in the Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue Act of 1988.
Nearly a decade later, Congress officially replaced the Ombudsman with the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate. At the same time, Congress gave the Advocate the authority and responsibility to make Congress aware of recurring, unresolved problems and difficulties taxpayers encounter in dealing with the IRS. The new law also tasked the Advocate with bringing two annual reports to Congress. Those reports are due June 30 (objectives of the Taxpayer Advocate for the coming fiscal year) and December 31 (includes a summary of at least 20 of the Most Serious Problems facing taxpayers) each year.
In 2014, the IRS formally adopted a new Taxpayer Bill of Rights, a document repeatedly proposed by then-National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson. The document enumerated taxpayer rights, making them clear, understandable, and accessible for taxpayers and IRS employees.
Today, TAS has at least one local taxpayer advocate office in every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, and self-styles as “your voice at the IRS.”
Heading up the agency? The National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA). The NTA is appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury and reports to the IRS Commissioner. Erin M. Collins is the current NTA.
The bill, which also expands the authority of the NTA to take personnel actions with respect to local taxpayer advocates (those in each state and district) to include actions concerning any employee of TAS, passed (385-0). A whopping 45 members of the House sat this one out.
Internal Revenue Service Math and Taxpayer Help Act
Feenstra also introduced the IRS Math and Taxpayer Help Act, which requires the IRS to change certain notices involving math or clerical errors.
The bill would require IRS notices related to a math or clerical error to provide a clear description of the error. That includes 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 telephone number for the automated transcript service, and the deadline for requesting an abatement of any tax assessed due to the error.
The bill also calls for the IRS to send a notices related to an abatement of tax assessed due to a math or clerical error which clearly describes the abatement and includes an itemized computation of adjustments to be made.
The bill charges the IRS with implementing a pilot program that would send notices of a math or clerical error by certified or registered mail.
Electronic Filing and Payment Fairness Act
The Electronic Filing and Payment Fairness Act was introduced by Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.).
Under current law, a federal tax document or payment sent by mail is considered delivered to the IRS on the date that the mailing is postmarked. It’s considered timely if the postmark date is on or before the due date. All good tax pros know this as the mailbox rule.
The IRS also authorized to provide guidance on electronically submitted federal tax documents, but not payments. Under current IRS guidance, the date that an authorized electronic return transmitter receives the transmission of an e-filed document on its host system is the electronic postmark date.
The bill expands the mailbox rule to include all electronically submitted federal tax documents, and payments. It also requires the IRS to provide guidance on electronically submitted federal tax documents and payments by no later than December 31, 2025.
If the bill becomes law, a federal tax document or payment that is electronically submitted to the IRS will be considered delivered to the IRS on the date the document or payment is sent.
Recovery of Stolen Checks Act
The Recovery of Stolen Checks Act was introduced by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.).
Under current law, taxpayers who are eligible to receive a replacement of a lost or stolen federal tax refund check are generally issued another paper check. Following concerns about stolen mail—and an Executive Order putting the kibosh on paper checks—the bill requires the Treasury to establish procedures to allow taxpayers to elect to receive a replacement check by direct deposit.
What Comes Next
All five bills passed the House and will now move to the Senate.
Read the full article here
