About
Matthew Tate, EA, MBA
Enrolled Agent · Former IRS Revenue Agent and Revenue Officer · Springfield, MO
A sole practitioner with federal licensure, direct experience inside the IRS, and a conviction that people make better financial decisions when someone takes the time to explain the reasoning.
In his words
Why Your Math Mate exists
Most people never see the tax system explained — they see the result of it. A letter arrives, a balance appears, a return is filed, and the reasoning behind it stays somewhere out of view. Having worked inside the IRS in two different roles, I know exactly how much of that reasoning is knowable, and how rarely anyone bothers to walk a taxpayer through it.
Your Math Mate Inc was built around a simple structure: serve a limited number of clients personally and directly, and publish everything else. The .org domain was a deliberate signal. The firm operates for profit, but the educational half of the work is free and open to anyone — no sign-up, no funnel, no gate.
As a sole practitioner, every engagement receives my personal attention. There are no hand-offs and no junior staff reviewing your file. When we finish, you should be able to explain your own situation back to me — that is the actual standard I work toward.
Professional history
Where the experience comes from
Roles listed without dates pending verification of exact tenure. A dated career timeline will be published once every date and title has been confirmed.
- Internal Revenue Service
IRS Revenue Agent
Conducted examinations of individual and business returns, working through documentation, reporting positions, and audit procedure from the government's side of the table.
- Internal Revenue Service
IRS Revenue Officer
Worked collection matters — balances, payment arrangements, liens, levies, and the resolution alternatives available within collection procedure.
- Public accounting
Senior Tax Accountant
Prepared and reviewed complex individual and business returns and provided planning and advisory support across a varied client base.
- Financial services
Financial Advisor
Provided financial planning and investment guidance, integrating tax consequences into longer-term financial decisions.
Credentials
What each one changes about the work
Enrolled Agent
An EA is licensed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and holds unlimited practice rights before the IRS. Practically, it means Matthew can represent you directly at every administrative level rather than referring you elsewhere mid-matter.
MBA
Tax questions are usually business questions in disguise. The conversation covers entity structure, cash flow, and timing — not just where a number lands on a form.
Former IRS Revenue Agent
Having conducted examinations, Matthew can tell you what an examiner is likely to request, what substantiation tends to satisfy them, and which positions invite questions.
Former IRS Revenue Officer
Collection cases follow procedures most taxpayers never see. Knowing those sequences changes which resolution paths are worth pursuing and in what order.
Senior Tax Accountant
Years of preparing and reviewing complex individual and business returns means the return itself is handled with the same rigor as the representation work.
Former Financial Advisor
A tax outcome is the tail end of a financial decision. That background helps frame the decision before the tax consequence is locked in.
Licensing and disclosures
Matthew Tate is an Enrolled Agent licensed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury with unlimited practice rights before the Internal Revenue Service. Your Math Mate Inc is not a CPA firm and Matthew is not represented as a Certified Public Accountant.
Securities licenses and financial planning services are not offered or described on this site pending confirmation of current registration status, any supervising broker-dealer or registered investment adviser relationship, approved service scope, and required disclosures.
Prior employment with the Internal Revenue Service does not confer special access, influence, preferential treatment, or any guaranteed result in a client matter.
Content published on this site is general education and does not constitute legal, tax, investment, or accounting advice for any specific situation.
Questions about credentials or engagement scope: yourmathmate@outlook.com