Matthew Cooper

Matthew Cooper joined Deloitte Tax LLP as a managing director in Washington National Tax Tax Controversy Services after spending the previous five and a half years at another Big 4 accounting firm. Before that, he worked nine years as an attorney in the IRS Office of Chief Counsel within the Procedure & Administration division. Matt represents clients in a variety of tax controversy matters, including IRS examinations and IRS Appeals. He also advises clients on a wide range of procedural issues, such as reporting and audit procedures for partnerships (BBA/TEFRA), penalties, interest, statute of limitations, extension and administrative relief options (9100 relief), and transition tax (IRC Section 965) procedures.

In his most recent role with the IRS, Matt was a special counsel advising the IRS, US Department of Justice, tax practitioners, and the public on many aspects of administrative and judicial tax practice. As special counsel, Matt coordinated some of the office’s most high-profile topics, such as the economic substance doctrine and the return preparer initiative. He also was one of the office’s subject matter professionals with respect to various procedural tax issues, including penalty, refund, the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act, Circular 230, and power of attorney issues.

Prior to becoming a special counsel, Matt was a senior technician reviewer with the IRS and was responsible for supervising the work product of 11 attorneys, drafting regulations and providing legal advice and litigation support on penalties, limitation periods, interest, information reporting, and ethics. Matt has been involved with multiple projects and examples of published guidance that he reviewed or drafted are projects relating to reportable transaction penalties under Sections 6707, 6707A and 6708; employer identification number updates under Section 6109; estimated tax penalty relief under Section 6654; and all return preparer and Circular 230 projects issued since 2006.

Matt is a frequent speaker on tax controversy and ethics issues at American Bar Association (ABA), Federal Bar Association, and other professional tax conferences. Matt is vice-chair of the ABA Tax Section’s Standards of Tax Practice Committee and a former member of the Tax Practice and Procedures Committee of the AICPA. During his tenure with Chief Counsel, Matt also completed details in Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs in London where he assisted with the foreign profits team, and as special counsel to the IRS Director of the Office of Professional Responsibility.

He holds a JD from The George Washington University Law School and a BS from Cornell University.