Today, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) delivered the following remarks during House debate on H.R. 1152, the Electronic Filing and Payment Fairness Act.
As prepared for delivery.
“The April 15th deadline to file one’s taxes is rapidly approaching. Right now, if a taxpayer mails a payment or tax return to the IRS that is postmarked by midnight on the due date, the payment or tax return will be considered timely even if it is received a week later.
“But under current law, taxpayers who file electronically do not receive the same treatment.
“If a taxpayer submits the same payment or return electronically on the due date, it may be considered late if the IRS receives it and processes it on the next day. In fiscal year 2023, more than 213 million returns and other forms – 79 percent of all filings – were filed electronically. Not only are electronic payments faster and easier to process, but they eliminate the risk of theft that we’ve seen recently with mailed checks – like in Representative Malliotakis’s district, for example.
“If Congress doesn’t correct this, taxpayers could potentially be on the hook for late penalties through no fault of their own.
“H.R. 1152, the Electronic Filing and Payment Fairness Act, is bipartisan legislation that will harmonize IRS deadline rules to ensure that electronic payments or documents submitted by taxpayers will be treated the same as postmarked mail.
“I want to thank Representatives LaHood, Feenstra, Fitzpatrick, DelBene, Panetta, and Schneider for their leadership on this bill. This is a simple, common sense fix to tax administration that will save taxpayers time and money, and I urge my colleagues to support it.”