The "Electronic Filing and Payment Fairness Act" ensures that electronically submitted tax documents and payments to the IRS are considered timely if sent by the due date, regardless of when the IRS receives them.
Darin LaHood
Representative
IL-16
The "Electronic Filing and Payment Fairness Act" applies the "mailbox rule" to electronically submitted documents and payments to the IRS, so that if a document or payment is sent electronically to the IRS by the due date, the date it was sent will be considered the date of delivery or payment. The Secretary must issue regulations or guidance to implement this paragraph by December 31, 2025, and the changes apply to any document or payment sent after that date.
IRS E-Filing Gets Mailbox Rule: Submissions Count When Sent Starting 2026
This bill, the Electronic Filing and Payment Fairness Act, updates a long-standing tax rule for the digital age. It officially applies the 'mailbox rule' to tax documents and payments submitted electronically to the IRS. Essentially, if you hit 'send' on your electronic filing or payment by the official deadline, it's considered on time, regardless of when the IRS actually processes it on their end. This change kicks in for anything submitted after December 31, 2025, and the IRS is required to issue guidance on how this will work by that date.
Hitting Send = Sent: The New E-Filing Rule
Think of the traditional 'mailbox rule': if you mailed your tax return and it was postmarked by the April 15th deadline, the IRS considered it on time, even if it arrived a few days later. This Act extends that same logic to electronic submissions. Section 2 amends the Internal Revenue Code (specifically section 7502(c)) to state that the date an electronic document or payment is sent is considered the date of delivery or payment, provided it's sent by the due date. This applies to returns, claims, statements, other documents, and payments.
What This Means for Your Tax Night Scramble
For most people filing electronically, this change offers a bit more peace of mind. If you're pushing up against the deadline, you can be confident that submitting electronically right before midnight counts, removing worries about potential IRS server delays causing a late submission. It aligns the rules for e-filing with the established practice for paper filing, providing consistency. While system glitches are always a possibility, this rule focuses on the taxpayer's action of sending by the deadline, aiming to prevent penalties solely due to transmission or processing delays on the receiving end after December 31, 2025.