Peoria Standard

Congressman Darin LaHood's bipartisan legislation, the Electronic Filing and Payment Fairness Act, has been passed by the House. Acting as the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Work and Welfare, LaHood emphasized how this bill seeks to modernize the IRS system and ensure equitable treatment for all taxpayers, regardless of how they submit their tax documents.

"This commonsense bill, which has been included in the National Taxpayer Advocate’s 'Purple Book' of Legislative Recommendations, would amend the tax code to apply the 'mailbox rule' to electronic submissions of payments and documents to the Internal Revenue Service," said Rep. LaHood.

Currently, a disparity in the IRS's rules sees documents postmarked by the due date as timely, even if received late. However, electronically submitted documents are labeled late if received only a day after the deadline. LaHood stated, "This disparity punishes taxpayers electing to correspond with the IRS electronically, which should be the preferred method of communication this day and age."

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith supported the legislation, saying, "It’s common sense that taxpayers who file electronically should be treated the same as taxpayers who use postmarked mail." He added, "Representative LaHood’s legislation, the Electronic Filing and Payment Fairness Act, is a big step forward to making our tax system fair for everyone."

The Electronic Filing and Payment Fairness Act aims to eliminate late fees and administrative burdens related to electronically submitted documents and payments. This simplifies tax filing for American families and small businesses, aiding nearly 90% of taxpayers who file electronically.